Hailing from a musical family, Anny Konetzni (real name Konerczny) studied singing, initially as a contralto, at the Vienna Conservatory with the Wagnerian tenor Erik Schmedes. She made her operatic debut in 1923 in the chorus of the Vienna Volksoper, but after one season, having almost lost her voice, returned to study, this time with Jacques Stückgold in Berlin. She then began her solo career in 1926 at the Volksoper, singing Mercédès / Carmen and Adriano / Rienzi, followed by Sofija in Moniusko’s Halka.

Konetzni sang with the municipal theatres of Augsburg (1928–1929) and Wuppertal-Barmen (1929–1930) before being engaged (as a dramatic soprano) by the Chemnitz opera (1930–1931). During 1929 she sang one of the Rhinemaidens / the Ring under Franz von Hoesslin at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris and Brangäne / Tristan und Isolde in a guest performance by the Augsburg Opera at Salzburg, when her soprano extension was noted. Between 1931 and 1934 she was a member of the Berlin State Opera, where she sang Elena in the first Berlin performance of Verdi’s I vespri siciliani in 1932. Other roles included Valentine / Les Huguenots, Reiza / Oberon and the Marschallin / Der Rosenkavalier. During 1933 Konetzni sang at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires and made a sensational debut in November that year at the Vienna State Opera as Isolde / Tristan und Isolde. She was immediately offered a contract and remained a member of this company until 1955.

Internationally Konetzni’s career developed quickly. She appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, New York in the 1934–1935 season as Brünnhilde / Die Walküre and Siegfried, Venus / Tannhäuser, Ortrud / Lohengrin and Isolde; and appeared also at La Scala, Milan, the Rome Opera and the Paris Opera. Having made her debut at the Royal Opera House, London as Brünnhilde under Beecham in 1935, she was invited back for three of the following four seasons and sang Brünnhilde there again in 1951. Other notable appearances took place at the Salzburg Festival (Isolde, 1934–1936; Reiza, 1934; Leonore / Fidelio, 1936; the Marschallin, 1941), Dresden (1935–1936, including Fricka / Das Rheingold), Munich (1936), Florence (Isolde, 1937), Zoppot (Senta / Der fliegende Holländer, 1940 and Venus), Bologna (Brünnhilde, 1942) and Rome (Brünnhilde, 1943).

After the end of World War II Konetzni was a guest at Zürich (1946), Amsterdam (the Marschallin, 1947), Geneva (1947), Stockholm (1948) and Verona (Ortrud, 1949) and returned to Florence to sing the title role in Elektra under Mitropoulos (1950). Her repertoire also included the Mother / Hänsel und Gretel, Martha / Tiefland, Eboli / Don Carlo, Carmen, Santuzza / Cavalleria rusticana, Marina / Boris Godunov and Electra / Idomeneo. Her final appearance at the Vienna State Opera was as Venus. From 1954 Konetzni taught at the Vienna Academy, but illness forced her retirement in 1957.

While she displayed a generous, dramatic voice, which towards the end was showing signs of wear, Konetzni’s stage presence was reputedly less impressive. Her sister Hilde Konetzni also enjoyed an international career.

© Naxos Rights International Ltd. — David Patmore (A–Z of Singers, Naxos 8.558097-100).