Gitta Alpár (born Regina Klopfer; 5 February 1903 – 17 February 1991), was a Hungarian-born

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

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 ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Biography

Gitta Alpár was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, the daughter of a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

. At an early age, she commenced the study of singing and pianoforte at the Academy of Budapest. Her first public appearance as a

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

under the name of Alpár was in 1923 at the Budapest State Opera House. The debut marked the beginning of a long career, promoted by eminent conductors such as

Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber (5 August 1890 – 27 January 1956) was an Austrian, later Argentine, conductor, known for his interpretations of the classics and as an advocate of Neue Musik. Kleiber was born in Vienna, and after studying at the Prague Conser ...

, which led her singing at the great opera houses of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and all over the world. An ensemble member of the Berlin State Opera from 1927 to 1930, she excelled in performances of Mozart's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', Rossini's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'', as well as in Verdi's ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'' and '' La Traviata''. In 1931, Alpár married actor

Gustav Fröhlich Gustav Friedrich Fröhlich (21 March 1902 – 22 December 1987) was a German actor and film director. He landed secondary roles in a number of films and plays before landing his breakthrough role of Freder Fredersen in Fritz Lang's 1927 in fil ...

, with whom she had a child, Julika. Her first films were made in Germany. The marriage was dissolved in 1935 because Alpár was Jewish and the marriage was illegal in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Alpár appeared on "Hitler's hit list", along with Charlie Chaplin and others, in the pages of the

anti-semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

book, ''Juden sehen Dich an'' by

Johann von Leers Omar Amin (born Johann Jakob von Leers; 25 January 19025 March 1965) was an '' Alter Kämpfer'' and an honorary ''Sturmbannführer'' in the ''Waffen-SS'' in Nazi Germany, where he was also a professor known for his anti-Jewish polemics. He was ...

. Alpár left Germany in 1933, first for Austria (where the film version of ''Ball im Savoy'' was made) and Hungary, then England and eventually the United States, where she continued her singing and film career. She died in Los Angeles, California, and was buried in the Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles.Findagrave
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Roles created

* 1930: Princess Elisabeth in Schön ist die Welt, a reworking of Endlich allein by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...

* 1931: Comtesse Dubarry in the revised version of ''

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 ...

'' by Millöcker * 1932: Madeleine de Faublas in the operetta '' Ball im Savoy'' by

Paul Abraham Paul Abraham (; 2 November 1892 – 6 May 1960) was a Jewish-Hungarian composer of operettas, who scored major successes in the German-speaking world. His specialty – and own innovation – was the insertion of jazz interludes into operett ...

Recordings

*''Lebendige Vergangenheit – Gitta Alpár'': includes arias and excerpts by Félicien-César David, Delibes, Eva Dell'Acqua,

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Ro ...

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 ...

, Offenbach,

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

, and

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

(1996, Preiser Records 1083891)

Films

*'' Gitta Discovers Her Heart'' (1932) *'' This One or None'' (1932) *'' Ball at the Savoy'' (1935) *'' I Give My Heart'' (1935) *'' Disk 413'' (1935) *'' Guilty Melody'' (1936) *'' Everything in Life'' (1936) *'' Mr. Stringfellow Says No'' (1937) *''

The Flame of New Orleans ''The Flame of New Orleans'' is a 1941 American historical comedy film directed by René Clair and starring Marlene Dietrich and Bruce Cabot in his first comedy role. The supporting cast features Roland Young, Andy Devine and Franklin Pangborn. ...

'' (1941)

References

External links