Franz Xaver Gerl ( – ) was a
bass singer and composer of the
classical era
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilization ...
. He sang the role of Sarastro in the premiere of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's opera ''
The Magic Flute''.
Life
Gerl was born on in
Andorf (then
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, since 1780 part of Austria). He sang as a chorister as a child in
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
; the ''
New Grove'' asserts that he was probably the pupil of
Leopold Mozart. He attended the
University of Salzburg
The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...
, studying logic and physics. His career as a bass began in 1785 with the theatrical company of
Ludwig Schmidt.
He evidently had an impressively low vocal range;
Peter Branscombe observes that the very low notes that Mozart included in the part of Sarastro have been "the despair of many a bass singer since".
By 1787 he had joined the theatrical company of
Emanuel Schikaneder, for which he sang the demanding role of Osmin in Mozart's opera ''
Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' and other roles. In 1789 the troupe settled at the
Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. Gerl participated in a system of joint composition used by Schikaneder's troupe, in which were produced rapidly by having several composers collaborate. As such, Gerl may have been the composer of the aria "Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding", for which Mozart wrote
a set of eight variations for piano,
K. 613 (the composer may instead have been another singer-composer in the troupe,
Benedikt Schack).
Mozart gradually came to participate more in the activities of the Schikaneder troupe, culminating in his opera ''
The Magic Flute'' (1791) to a
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by Schikaneder. Gerl premiered the role of Sarastro, and continued to sing this part in many performances through 1792. He left Schikaneder's troupe in 1793.
Gerl may have been a participant in a rehearsal of Mozart's ''
Requiem'' on the day before the composer died; for details see
Benedikt Schack.
Gerl's later career took him to
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
and
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
, where he retired in 1826. He died there on .
Assessment
Branscombe, writing in the ''New Grove'', offers the following concerning Gerl's reputation as a singer: "When
Schröder, the greatest actor-manager of his age, went to Vienna in 1791 he was told not to miss hearing
enediktSchack and Gerl at Schikaneder's theatre." Branscombe also notes the striking quality of the music that Mozart wrote for Gerl.
Family
Gerl married the soprano Barbara Reisinger (1770–1806) on 2 September 1789. She also sang in the Schikaneder troupe, and performed the role of Papagena at the ''Magic Flute'' premiere. She went with Gerl to Brno and Mannheim, and died there shortly after giving birth to their second child.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerl, Franz Xaver
1764 births
1827 deaths
Operatic basses
18th-century Austrian male opera singers
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singers
University of Salzburg alumni
The Magic Flute