Christine Görner (; 15 June 1930 – 30 October 2024) was a German actress and opera singer. Based at the

Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (; State Theatre at ), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) Designed by , ...

, she focused on

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s and

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. She played the title role in the 1958

operetta film Operetta films (German: Operettenfilm) are a genre of musical films associated with, but not exclusive to, German language cinema. The genre began in the late 1920s, but its roots stretch back into the tradition of nineteenth century Viennese ope ...

Gräfin Mariza ''Gräfin Mariza'' (; ''Countess Maritza'') is an operetta in three acts composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with a German libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna on 28 February 1924 at the Theater ...

''.

Early life and career

After her

vocal training Vocal pedagogy is the study of the art and science of voice instruction. It is used in the teaching of singing and assists in defining what singing is, how singing works, and how singing technique is accomplished. Vocal pedagogy covers a broad r ...

Görner was engaged as a member of the

Staatsoper Hamburg The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of ...

at age 22. After a few years she moved to the

in Munich. She appeared there in Harold Rome's '' Fanny'', alongside

Trude Hesterberg Trude Hesterberg (2 May 1892 – 31 August 1967) was a German film actress. She appeared in 89 films between 1917 and 1964. Selected filmography * ''Ein Schwerenöter'' (1916) – Liddy * ''Die Eheschule'' (1917) * ''Die Reise ins Jenseits ...

, the first musical produced at Gärtnerplatz. In the 1956 world premiere of

Paul Burkhard Paul Burkhard (21 December 1911 – 6 September 1977) was a Swiss composer. He primarily wrote oratorios, musicals and operettas. The contemporaneous and similarly named Swiss composer Willy Burkhard was no relation to him. Probably his most fa ...

spieloper In the 19th century, Spieloper (, 'opera play') was understood to mean a light opera genre, developed from Singspiel. Works typical of the genre include those by Albert Lortzing, such as ''Zar und Zimmermann'', and Otto Nicolai's ''The Merry Wives ...

''Spiegel, das Kätzchen'', she performed as Miesmies alongside

Ferry Gruber Ferry Gruber (28 September 1926 – 23 July 2004) was an Austrian-German tenor in opera and operetta. A member of both the Bavarian State Opera and Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich for half a century, he focused on roles of the buffo genr ...

, among others. She performed as a guest at the

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the ...

, the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

and the

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

. In the 1950s she was also active as an actress and performed leading roles in several film productions. In 1958 she played the title role in the operetta film ''

'' of Kalman's operetta alongside

Rudolf Schock Rudolf Johann Schock (4 September 1915 – 13 November 1986) was a German tenor. Rudolf Schock was born in Duisburg, in the Prussian Rhine Province. He sang a wide repertoire from operetta to ''Lohengrin'', recording among others opera and lieder, ...

. From 1988 Görner worked mainly as a

voice coach A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in sing ...

, teaching acting and singing, first for five years at the acting school of Ruth von Zerboni, then later in her own studio. She was also successful as a performer of songs by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

and

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

as well as of

chansons A (, ; , ) is generally any lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of French pop music which e ...

of the 1920s. She appeared on radio and television.

Personal life and death

Görner was born on 15 June 1930. She was the great-granddaughter of

Karl August Görner Karl or Carl August Görner (29 January 1806, in Berlin – 9 April 1884, in Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after ...

, an actor and theater manager, and the opera singer Friederike Tomasini from

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; ) is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital o ...

. Görner was married to the baritone

Benno Kusche Benno Paul Kusche (30 January 1916 – 14 May 2010) was a German operatic baritone, who was praised as one of the best Mozart and Wagner singers, especially in character roles and opera buffa. Career Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Kusche was the ...

from 1960 to 1986. Their son, Christian Kusche-Tomasini is a film composer living in Italy. Görner died on 30 October 2024 in Italy, where she had lived with her son for the last five years. She was 94.

Recordings

Görner recorded complete operettas and excerpts. * 1957: ''

Gräfin Dubarry ''Gräfin Dubarry'' is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker to a German libretto by F. Zell and Richard Genée. The story concerns Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV, King of France. Performance history The operetta had its prem ...

'' * Excerpts from operettas (''Operettenquerschnitte''), with Benno Kusche (EMI) * '' The Merry Farmer /

Der Vogelhändler ' (''The Bird Seller'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Zeller with a libretto by Moritz West and Ludwig Held based on Victor Varin's and de Biéville's ' (1857). In 1891, Helen Tretbar translated the original German libretto into English an ...

'', with Benno Kusche (Amiga) * ''Robert Stolz – Meine schönsten Melodien'', with Benno Kusche (Europa) * ''Christine Görner – Benno Kusche'' (Telefunken) * ''Weltstars singen Lehár'' (Electrola) * ''Ein Sommer lang / In mir klingt ein Lied'' (Telefunken) * J. Strauss: ''

Eine Nacht in Venedig '' Eine Nacht in Venedig '' (''A Night in Venice'') is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II. Its libretto was by F. Zell and Richard Genée based on ''Le Château Trompette'' by Eugène Cormon and Richard Genée. The farcical, roman ...

'', as Agricola (1967) * Excerpt from ''

Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies ''Wedding Night in Paradise'' (German: ''Hochzeitsnacht im Paradis'') is an operetta in eight scenes. Book by Heinz Hentschke, lyrics by Gunther Schwenn and music by Friedrich Schröder.Meyer-Dinkgrafe p.22 It was premièred in Berlin at the Met ...

'' * Excerpt from ''Gräfin Mariza'', with

Fritz Wunderlich Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35. Biography Wunde ...

* Excerpt from '' Wiener Blut'' * Excerpt from '' Der Vetter aus Dingsda''

Films

Films with Görner include: * 1958: ''Wenn Mädchen ins Manöver zieh'n'' * 1958: ' * 1958: '' Zauber der Montur'' * 1958: ''

'' * 1959: ''Zwischen Glück und Krone'' * 1959: '' Was eine Frau im Frühling träumt'' * 1959: '' Mandolinen und Mondschein'' * 1959: ' * 1959: ' * 1960: '' Endstation Rote Laterne''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorner, Christine 1930 births 2024 deaths 20th-century German women opera singers German operatic sopranos German musical theatre actresses German film actresses People from Halle (Saale)