Bally Prell (born Agnes Pauline Prell; 14 September 1922 – 20 March 1982) was a German performer, humorous singer, and folk singer, who performed mainly in
Bavarian language
Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German variety (linguistics), varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. P ...
.
Life
Prell was the daughter of folk singer and composer Ludwig Prell on Leopold Street 77 in
Schwabing
Schwabing is a borough in the northern part of Munich, the Capital (political), capital of the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is part of the city borough 4 (Schwabing-West) and the city borough 12 (Schwabing-Freimann). The population of Sc ...
, a district in the Bavarian capital of
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, where she lived her entire life. As early as five years old, she performed at the
Odeon hall in Munich and wowed the audience with her voice. Her voice was a low tenor/
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
, and she sang some classical arias in that
register
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), ...
.
On 31 October 1953, she appeared for the first time in Munich's
Platzl with her song, "Die Schönheitskönigin von Schneizlreuth" ("The Beauty Queen of
Schneizlreuth
Schneizlreuth is a municipality in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria in Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the nor ...
"). The song used Prell's unusual vocal range and decidedly un-beauty queen-like appearance to caricature the emerging beauty craze. The program included the music composed by her father "Isarmärchen". Prell remained connected to the Platzl the rest of her life.
In 1956 and 1957, she appeared in films, such as in ''
Marriages Forbidden'' as a carnival singer and in ''
Two Bavarians in the Harem'' as Leila, Rose of the Night.
Prell died in 1982 from the effects of a
goiter operation. She is buried in the
Nordfriedhof Cemetery in Munich (grave No. 2-3-5).
Honors
The Munich City Museum has an exhibit in Prell's honor, with original items from her famous stage costume including the floral ruffle dress, beach umbrella, fingerless gloves, beauty crown, and the white-blue scarves imprinted with "Miss Schneizlreuthn".
A fountain in her honor, designed by Wolfgang Sand, was erected in 1992 in front of her house in the
Leopoldstraße.
On 14 June 2007 the Munich City Council named a new street after Prell. The street is in a new development in the
Lochhausen district.
References
Further reading
* Eva Becher, Wolfgang A. Mayer (Ed.): ''Münchner Liederbuch. So lang der Alte Peter am Petersbergl steht. Noten und Lieder'' (= ''Jochen Wiegandts Liedertafel.'' 4). Dölling und Galitz, München 2008, .
External links
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* Performance of
* Performance of
* Performance of
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prell, Bally
German folk singers
German women folk singers
German women comedians
German baritones
1922 births
1982 deaths
Singers from Munich
Burials at the Nordfriedhof (Munich)
20th-century German women singers
20th-century German comedians
German contraltos
Comedians from Munich