Fritzi Massary

Friederike Massaryk, known professionally as Fritzi Massary, born March 21, 1882, in Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire, was an Austrian-American soprano and actress. She began her singing career at age 17, performing at the Landestheater Linz and later at the Carl-Schultze-Theater in Hamburg, where she debuted as Molly in the operetta Die Geisha. In 1904, she moved to Berlin and became a leading soprano at the Metropol Theater. She gained fame through roles in operettas such as La viuda alegre and Madame Pompadour. Her career was disrupted by the rise of Nazism in 1932, leading to her emigration to the United States in 1939. Her filmography included Der Tunnel in 1915 and Die Rose von Stambul in 1919. She passed away on January 30, 1969, in Beverly Hills, California.