Heinz Holecek
Heinz "Honzo" Holecek (1 April 1938 – 13 April 2012OTS-Aussendung der Staatsoper (OTS0167 13. Apr. 2012 13:10): ''Zum Tod von KS Margarita Lilowa und KS Heinz Holecek''Online) was an Austrian bass-baritone, known as an opera and operetta singer as well as a lied interpreter, was also a Viennese "all-round artist" – actor, parodist, and entertainer. Career Born in Vienna, Holecek completed his vocal training at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, and then studied Holecek studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where his teachers included Elisabeth Radó. He made his debut in 1960 at the Volksoper as Papageno in Mozart's '' Die Zauberflöte''. His first performance at the Vienna State Opera was the same role in 1962, and from 1965 he performed at both houses. Holecek made guest appearances at opera houses in Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Zürich, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, and also at the Bregenz Festival. In 1977, he wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the title role in '' Der fliegende Holländer'', Wotan/Der Wanderer in the '' Ring Cycle'' and Hans Sachs in ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. Wagner labelled these roles as ''Hoher Bass'' ("high bass")—see fach for more details. The bass-baritone voice is distinguished by two attributes. First, it must be capable of singing comfortably in a baritonal tessitura. Secondly, however, it needs to have the ripely resonant lower range typically associated with the bass voice. For example, the role of Wotan in '' Die Walküre'' covers the range from F2 (the F at the bottom of the bass clef) to F4 (the F above middle C), but only infrequently descends beyond C3 (the C below middle C). Bass-baritones are typically divi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen Für Wissenschaft Und Kunst
The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National Council as an honour for scientific or artistic achievements by Federal Law of May 1955 ( Federal Law Gazette No. 96/1955 as amended BGBl I No 128/2001). At the same time, the National Council also established the "Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art", which is awarded as "Cross of Honour, First Class" (German: ''Ehrenkreuz 1. Klasse'') and "Cross of Honour" (German: ''Ehrenkreuz''). While not technically counted as lower classes of the Decoration for Science and Art, these crosses are nevertheless affiliated with it. Divisions Decoration for Science and Art The number of living recipients of the Decoration for Science and Art is limited to a maximum of 72 at any on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. The son of a lawyer, he studied law and earned a doctorate in this subject before entering the music conservatory in his home town of Graz, Austria. He later enrolled at the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied under Eusebius Mandyczewski, a friend of Johannes Brahms. Munich, Darmstadt, Hamburg In 1917, Böhm became a rehearsal assistant in his home town, making his debut as a conductor in Viktor Nessler's ''Der Trompeter von Säckingen'' in 1917. He became the assistant director of music in 1919, and the following year, the senior director. On the recommendation of Karl Muck, Bruno Walter engaged him at the Bavarian State Opera, Munich in 1921. An early assignment here was Mozart's '' Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', with a cast ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Otto Schenk
Otto Schenk (born 12 June 1930, in Vienna) is an Austrian actor, and theater and opera director. Life and career Schenk was born to Catholic parents. His father, a lawyer, had Jewish roots and therefore lost his job after the Anschluss in 1938. His mother was Italian. Schenk studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, and started his acting career at the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Wiener Volkstheater, and as a comedian at Vienna's Kabarett Simpl. His directing career began in 1953 at small Viennese venues, later leading him to renowned stages like the Burgtheater, the Munich Kammerspiele or the Salzburg Festival, staging plays by William Shakespeare, Arthur Schnitzler, Ödön von Horváth, Anton Chekhov. In 1957, Schenk directed his first opera, Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'' for the Salzburg Landestheater. His breakthrough as an opera director came in 1962 with Alban Berg's ''Lulu'' at the Theater an der Wien. This production was later moved to the Vienna State Opera, whe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Erich Kunz
Erich Kunz (20 May 1909 in Vienna – 8 September 1995 in Vienna) was an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the roles of Papageno and Beckmesser. Life and career Born in Vienna, Kunz was educated at the Vienna Music Academy where he was a student of Theo Lierhammer and Hans Duhan. He made his stage debut in Opava, as Osmin, in 1933. He then sang in Plauen (1936–37) and Breslau (1937–41). In 1936 he was a member of the opera chorus at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, not returning there again until 1950 when he portrayed Guglielmo in Mozart's ''Così fan tutte''. He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1940, where he quickly established himself as a specialist of Mozart roles such as Figaro, Leporello, Guglielmo, Papageno, roles he also sang at the Salzburg Festival and Aix-en-Provence Festival. He was also renowned for his portrayal of Beckmesser, which he sang at the Bayreuth Festival in 1943 and 1951. In 1947 he performed the roles of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wolfgang Windgassen
Wolfgang Windgassen (26 June 1914 – 8 September 1974) was a heldentenor internationally known for his performances in Wagner operas. Life and career Born in Annemasse, France, he was the son (and pupil) of a well known German Heldentenor, Fritz Windgassen (who was also the teacher of Gottlob Frick). His mother was the German coloratura soprano Vali von der Osten, sister of the much more famous soprano Eva von der Osten, who created the part of Octavian in Richard Strauss' '' Der Rosenkavalier''. Both Windgassen's parents were longtime mainstays of the Staatsoper Stuttgart. Wolfgang made his début at Pforzheim as Pinkerton in ''Madama Butterfly.'' After army service he became a member of the Stuttgart opera company, and succeeded his father as principal tenor. Stuttgart opera remained his home base throughout his career, and for the last two years of his life he was its artistic director. Windgassen sang at all the important opera houses all over the world. He was invit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gundula Janowitz
Gundula Janowitz (born 2 August 1937)"Janowitz, Gundula" by Alan Blyth, Grove Music Online is an Austrian lyric soprano singer of operas, oratorios, lieder, and concerts. She is one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century and was pre-eminent in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Janowitz was born in Berlin, but grew up in , Austria, where she became a[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eberhard Waechter (baritone)
Eberhard Freiherr von Waechter (9 July 1929 – 29 March 1992) was an Austrian baritone celebrated for his performances in the operas of Mozart, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. After retiring from singing, he became intendant of the Vienna Volksoper and the Vienna State Opera. Career Born in Vienna, Waechter studied at the University of Vienna and the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1953, he began voice lessons with Elisabeth Radó. That same year he made his operatic debut, as Silvio in Leoncavallo's ''Pagliacci'', at the Vienna Volksoper. In 1954, he debuted at the Vienna State Opera. In 1956, he debuted at Covent Garden, as Count Almaviva in Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro'', and at the Salzburg Festival, as Arbace in Mozart's '' Idomeneo''; in 1958, at Bayreuth, as Amfortas in Wagner's ''Parsifal''; in 1959, at the Paris Opera, as Wolfram in Wagner's ''Tannhäuser''; in 1960, at both La Scala and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as Count Almaviva; and, in January 1961, at t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wiener Philharmoniker
The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. Selection involves a lengthy process, with each musician demonstrating their capability for a minimum of three years' performance for the opera and ballet. After this probationary period, the musician may request an application for a position in the orchestra from the Vienna Philharmonic's board. History Precursors and formation Until the 1830s, orchestral performance in Vienna was done by ''ad hoc'' orchestras, consisting of professional and (often) amateur musicians brought together for specific performances. In 1833, Franz Lachner formed the forerunner of the Vienna Philharmonic, the – an orchestra of professional musicians from the Vienna Court Opera (''Wiener Hofo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christoph Von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conductor. Biography Youth and World War II Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side, and also his godfather, was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian/ethicist. His grandfather was the pianist and composer ErnÅ‘ Dohnányi, also known as Ernst von Dohnányi. His father, uncle and other family members participated in the German Resistance movement against Nazism, and were arrested and detained in several Nazi concentration camps before being executed in 1945, when Christoph was 15 years old. Dohnányi's older brother is Klaus von Dohnanyi, a German politician and former mayor of Hamburg. Education and early engagements After World War II, Dohnányi studied law in Munich, but in 1948 he transferred to the ''Hochschule für Musik und Theater München'' to study composition, piano and con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Waldemar Kmentt
Waldemar Kmentt (Vienna, 2 February 1929 Vienna, 21 January 2015) was an Austrian operatic tenor, who was particularly associated with the German repertory, both opera and operetta. Born in Vienna, Kmentt studied at the Vienna Music Academy, first the piano, and later voice with Adolf Vogel, Elisabeth Radó and Hans Duhan. In 1950, he sang the tenor-solo part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony under Karl Böhm. His professional opera debut was in 1951 at the Vienna State Opera, as the Prince in ''The Love for Three Oranges''. He appeared regularly at the Staatsoper for the next 35 years, in a total of 1,480 performances, and the company awarded him honorary membership in 1982. His Salzburg Festival debut was in 1955 in Hans Pfitzner's ''Palestrina'', as Dandini. Other roles at Salzburg Festival particularly include Mozart roles ( Belmonte, Don Ottavio, Ferrando, Tamino, and both Idamante and Idomeneo). Beginning in 1956, he appeared outside Austria, in places such as Milan, R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Margarethe Bence
Margarethe Bence (August 13, 1930 – April 1, 1992) was an American opera singer, who sang both mezzo-soprano and contralto parts and was mostly active in German and Austria, including international festivals such as the Bayreuth Festival and the Salzburg Festival. Her repertoire included music from Baroque to contemporary premieres. Career Born in Kingston, New York in a German-American family on August 13, 1930, Bence began her voice studies in the United States. She toured with the Robert Shaw Chorale from 1950 to 1953, when she continued her studies in Stuttgart. Her teachers included Res Fischer and Ellinor Junker-Giesen. She appeared first in concert, especially in alto-parts of oratorios. In 1956 she joined the ensemble of the Württembergische Staatsoper, where she remained for 14 years. She studied a broad repertory, from Baroque to contemporary music, playing as both comic and tragic characters. She appeared as a guest artist, first in 1959 when the Stuttgart Opera ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |