Kammersaengerin CARLA MARTINIS (1922 – 2010)  in memoriam
(all photos courtesy Charles Mintzer)

Carla (originally Dragica) Martinis’s maiden name (Martinis is the name of her husband) is unknown to me. She had a  short career but made an impact wherever she sang especially volume wise. In the early sixties her career was cut short by a tragic event : the death of her child in an accident. Several years ago the Austrian Preiser label put her back in the picture by issuing a cd of her solo recordings and many operafans also know her from her Salzburg Desdemona opposite Vinay under Furtwaengler.
The late Charles Jahant – a remarkable opera historian -made an outline of the singer’s career whom Martinis annotated.

Laszlo Halasz brought her to the New York city opera after he heard her in Vienna. Hereby a scan of a programme signed by Martinis herself and three other members of the cast

(in Pique Dame and Turandot)