Sylvia Geszty (born Sylvia Maria Ilona Wytkowsky; Hungarian: Geszty (Witkowsky) Ilona Mária Szilvia [ˈɡɛsti ˈsilvijɒ];[1] 28 February 1934 – 13 December 2018[2]) was a Hungarian-German operatic coloratura soprano who appeared internationally, based first at the Staatsoper Berlin in East Berlin and from 1970 at the Staatstheater Stuttgart.

She is remembered as Mozart's Queen of the Night and an ideal Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, but also performed Baroque opera and in the world premiere of Kurt Schwaen's Leonce und Lena.

[1] Two years later, she became a member of the Staatsoper Berlin, making her debut there in the role of Amor in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

[1] Her roles included Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, the Queen of the Night in his Die Zauberflöte, Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto and the Tsaritsa of Shemakha in Rimsky-Korsakov's Der goldene Hahn.

Her interpretation of the challenging role was described by critic John Steane as the "most emotional, multi-faceted and human of all" ("die ausdruckswärmste, vielgestaltigste und menschlichste Darstellung von allen").

[1] From 1963, she was also a regular guest at the Komische Oper Berlin where she appeared as the four leading female characters in Offenbach's Hoffmanns Erzählungen, among others.

[9][10] She appeared as Zerbinetta, as Mimi in Puccini's La Bohéme, staged by Götz Friedrich, and in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, among others.

[13] In 1968, she was cast as Despina in a recording of Mozart's Così fan tutte, with Otmar Suitner leading the Staatskapelle Berlin, alongside Celestina Casapietra, Annelies Burmeister, Peter Schreier, Günther Leib and Theo Adam.