Emil Pollert, born Emil Popper (20 January 1877,

Liblice Liblice is a municipality and village in Mělník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Geography Liblice is situated southeast of Mělník and northeast of Prague. It lies mostly in the Ji ...

Mělník Mělník (; german: Melnik) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Mělník lies in one of the most im ...

– 23 October 1935,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

opera singer Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

at the National Theatre in Prague, in his time the main representative of bass roles.

Life

Pollert's talent was discovered by his brother, who in his adulthood financed his singing lessons with Francis Pivoda and Moritz Wallerstein. His study did not last long; he was engaged in

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

in the season 1898–1899, following which he was recommended to the National Theatre and immediately accepted. Pollert's voice was strong and granular, extremely resonant, with an extraordinary range, its color gradually cultivated into a soft and velvety tone. He was regarded as particularly suited to comedic roles, which he played realistically, with a tendency to naturalism. His debut was in the dramatic opera ''Byl jednou jeden král''. Following this, successful performances followed in such operas as '' Dalibor'', ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'', '' Rusalka'' and ''

The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' ( cz, Prodaná nevěsta, links=no, ''The Sold Bride'') is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the ...

''. He gradually gained fame for his performance in comic roles. After the retirement of prominent bassist Vaclav Kliment, Pollert took his place at the center of the stage, representing a total of 221 roles in more than 5,000 performances. Besides performing in operatic roles, he was involved in the production of several

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s and starred in the comic operetta, ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

''. He directed 12 operas himself. He founded and led an organization for soloists of the National Theatre, and from 1920 to 1922, was director of opera and theater at the Švandovo Arena in Prague. In 1927, he was awarded the State Prize for excellent work in the National Theatre. Pollert died in Prague of a heart attack in 1935 just before his scheduled appearance in the role of Boniface in

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

's '' The Secret''. He is buried at the

Vinohrady cemetery Vinohrady Cemetery ( cs, Vinohradský hřbitov) is a large cemetery in Vinohrady in Prague 10 which contains Strašnice Crematorium. It is the second largest cemetery in Prague and is registered in the state list of cultural monuments. The remain ...

. The National Theatre features a bust of Pollert, created by sculptor Charles Dvorak.

Notable performances

He focused particularly on roles by Czech composers, particularly those by Smetana. He sang Kecal in ''The Bartered Bride'' in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and many places in Bohemia. He developed the character in detail, not only singing but acting, with special emphasis on gesture, facial expressions and body positioning. Critics praised both his forceful comic and accurate vocal performance.Kopecký, Pospíšil, cit. d., s. 107 He performed this role at the anniversary of the opera at the National Theatre. His performance as Kecal was recorded in 1933 (where he was conducted by Otakar Ostrcil) and preserved twice on film: in a silent version of 1913 (directed by Max Urban) and one with sound of 1933 (film director,

Svatopluk Innemann Svatopluk Innemann (18 February 1896 – 30 October 1945) was a Czech film director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor and actor. He was one of the pioneers of Czech cinema. Biography and works Innemann, was a son of the Czech director R ...

; theater director, Jaroslav Kvapil).

References

* ČERNUŠÁK, Gracián; ŠTĚDROŇ, Bohumír; NOVÁČEK, Zdenko. Československý hudební slovník osob a institucí. Svazek 2. Praha : Státní hudební nakladatelství, 1965. Kapitola Pollert. Obsahuje seznam jeho rolí i s počtem vystoupení. * DEYL, Rudolf. Sláva – tráva : Herecké vzpomínky. Praha : Vilímek, 1938. 318 s. Kapitola Kamarád, s. 306–318. * KOPECKÝ, Emanuel; POSPÍŠIL, Vilém. Slavní pěvci Národního divadla. Praha : Panton, 1968. 226 s. Kapitola Dva basisté: Jiří Huml Emil Pollert, s. 100–111. * PROCHÁZKA, Vladimír, (red.) Národní divadlo a jeho předchůdci. Praha : Academia, 1988. 623 s. Kapitola Emil Pollert, s. 385–386. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollert, Emil 1877 births 1935 deaths Czech opera singers Operatic basses People from Mělník District