Astrid Varnay was a Swedish-born soprano of Austro-Hungarian parentage, who was resident in the USA since childhood. She studied with her mother, in New York with P. Althouse, and later with H. Weigert. Her opera debut came in 1941 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York as a last-minute deputy for Lotte Lehmann as Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre. Varnay stayed at the Met until 1956, becoming a leading Wagnerian and Strauss soprano. She also sang at Coven Garden, Bayreuth, and the Salzburg Festival, among others. She was best known for her Wagner roles. Late in her career, she switched to mezzo-soprano roles, such as Klytämnestra in Strauss’s Elektra.

--Adapted from The Oxford Dictionary of Music