Fritz Schaetzler (13 May 1898 – 3 February 1994) was a German

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 ''

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German Title of honor, honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was besto ...

''. He studied under Anna Bahr-Mildenburg. From 1919 to 1922, he was engaged at the Nationaltheater München; from 1922 to 1947, he was engaged at the

Staatsoper Stuttgart The Staatsoper Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Opera) is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart serves as its resident orchestra. History Performances of operas, ballet an ...

. Concealing physical disabilities, including an amputated leg and a paralyzed hand, that resulted from injuries suffered during the

Second Battle of Flanders The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, fo ...

, he performed throughout Europe (Prague, Bordeaux, Oslo et al.). Over the course of his career, he collaborated with prominent conductors and composers of the era (Hans Knappersbusch, Clemens Krauss, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwaengler, Richard Strauss, Hans Pfitzner, Carl Orff, Ernst Krenek et al.). Roles included Wolfram, Beckmesser, Figaro, Rigoletto, Tonio. His autobiography, "Nun Erst Recht," was published in 1943 (Deutscher Verlag, Berlin) and later adapted for the screen "Sieg des Willens" (Berlin, circa 1944/45) with Schaetzler portraying himself. Although of "non-aryan" heritage, and in spite of being an outspoken critic of the regime, Schaetzler survived the Nazi era through the personal intervention of

Emmy Göring Emma Johanna Henny "Emmy" Göring (; 24 March 1893 – 8 June 1973) was a German actress and the second wife of ''Luftwaffe'' Commander-in-Chief Hermann Göring. She served as Adolf Hitler's hostess at many state functions and thereby staked a cl ...

, a former theater colleague and wife of

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

, as well as through the tacit shielding of other high-ranking party members. Schaetzler married and divorced Hildegard Ranczak, leading Strauss soprano (Clarion, Capriccio premiere, 28 October 1942, Nationaltheater München), later marrying soprano Egidia Bonessi (German-Italian Culture Exchange, La Scala, Parma et al.). After World War II, Schaetzler served as baritone soloist for the

American Forces Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the United States Armed Forces provides to soldiers stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. AFN comprises two sub ...

(his wife succeeded

Grace Moore Mary Willie Grace Moore (December 5, 1898January 26, 1947) was an American operatic lyric soprano and actress in musical theatre and film.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', January 29, 1947, page 48. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee N ...

as soprano soloist after Moore's death in 1947). Over a two and a half year period, Schaetzler and Bonessi hosted their own radio program, broadcast over AFN. With the support of Generals

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

and

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

, Schaetzler emigrated to the United States. He resided in Hollywood, California, where he was active as a vocal coach for the film industry. Students included Keith Larsen, Vera Miles, Hugh O'Brian, Ruth Roman, John Saxon, and Jay Silverheels. In the early 1950s, Schaetzler became an American citizen. He died in

La Habra, California La Habra – archaic spelling of – is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. History Origin of name The name refe ...

References

* Perlmutter, Donna (April 22, 1986). "Fritz Shetsler Still On Top Of World". Los Angeles Times * "Nun Erst Recht, Lebensbericht" (Fritz Schaetzler, Im Deutschen Verlag, Berlin, 1943) * Deutsches Buehnen Jahrbuch 1985 * "Emmy Goering, Geborene Sonnemann-Bericht Eines Lebens" (Kindler und Schiermeyer Verlag GmbH., Munich, Erich Ebermayer und Alfred Muehr, 1950) *

Walther Killy Walther Killy (26 August 191728 December 1995) was a German literary scholar who specialised in poetry, especially that of Friedrich Hölderlin and Georg Trakl. He taught at the Free University of Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Götting ...

Rudolf Vierhaus Rudolf Vierhaus (29 October 1922 – 13 November 2011) was a German historian who mainly researched the Early modern period. He had been a professor at the newly founded Ruhr University Bochum since 1964. From 1971, he was director of the in Gött ...

(editors): ''

Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie The ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'' (''DBE'') is a biographical dictionary published by Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus (from the third to fourth volume), the first edition of which was published from 1995 to 2003 in 13 volumes by K. ...

''. Volume 8. Saur, München 1996, , S. 553f. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaetzler, Fritz 1898 births 1994 deaths German operatic baritones German Army personnel of World War I Naturalized citizens of the United States 20th-century German male opera singers German amputees