Koloman von Pataky
Koloman von Pataky, a world-famous opera singer and one of the most famous natives of Dolnja Lendava, was born as Kálmán Pataky on 14th November, 1896. His mother was Mária Molnár, from Szentgyörgyvölgy, and his father was Kálmán Pataky Sr., a teacher of Transylvanian origin, whose merits, among other things, include the founding of the Industrial Reading Circle (Ipari Olvasókör) in Dolnja Lendava, which enabled poorer citizens to have access to books.
The family moved to Čakovec in the early 1900s, where the young Pataky learnt, among other things, to play the violin. After that, they moved to Vác, and eventually settled in Cluj-Napoca, where Pataky graduated from secondary school. Due to World War I, he was immediately enlisted, but he was not on the front for long, as he was sent home due to severe hepatitis. He recovered, completed the officer course, and was then sent to the Italian battlefield.
Pataky never gave up playing music and took every opportunity to pick up the violin. After the war, he learnt to sing. In April 1921, he appeared in front of the public at the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, in the role of the Italian singer in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. His performances were a great success, winning over not only the audience, but also the critics. Noticing his talent, the most prestigious opera stages in Europe opened up to him. In 1926, he was hired by the Vienna State Opera. After the Anschluss in 1938, he had to leave the Vienna Opera House, consequently, he returned to Hungary with his family. His last appearance in Hungary was in February 1945, in Szeged. After this, he emigrated to South America. He and his wife moved to Los Angeles in 1955, where he spent his last years. He died on 29th February, 1964.
Kálmán Pataky was one of the greatest Mozart tenors of the 20th century, singing the leading roles of all the tenors in the opera repertoire. His recordings have preserved much of his art – the most significant of which is the complete Don Giovanni with the Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra, which is one of the top achievements in the entire history of recordings.
Bibliography, source of image:
https://www.gml.si/en/publications/#flipbook-df_16252/57/
https://lendava.e-obcina.si/Files/eMagazine/76/329968/lendavske_novice_2019_4-5.pdf
