Horst Seeger (6 November 1926 – 2 January 1999), pseudonyme ''Horst Schell'', was a German

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

librettist 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. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

and

opera director Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums before disbandi ...

Leben

Born in

Erkner Erkner () is a town in the Oder-Spree District of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the south-eastern edge of the German capital city Berlin. Geography The town is located between the lakes Dämeritzsee, a part of the river Spree (river), Spree, a ...

in the

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

, Seeger studied musicology at the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

with Walter Vetter,

Ernst Hermann Meyer Ernst Hermann Ludimar Meyer (8 December 1905 – 8 October 1988) was a German composer and musicologist, noted for his expertise on seventeenth-century English chamber music. Life Meyer was born in Berlin. He received his first piano lessons ...

and

Hans-Heinz Dräger Hans-Heinz Dräger (6 December 1909 – 9 November 1968), complete name Hans-Heinz Gerhard Kurt Dräger, was a German-American musicologist. He died in November 1968 at age 58. Life and career Born in Stralsund, Dräger attended the secondary sc ...

and worked as a music journalist and critic from 1954. From 1959 to 1960 he was editor-in-chief of the journal ''

Musik und Gesellschaft ''Musik und Gesellschaft'' was a music magazine in the German Democratic Republic. It was published monthly from 1951 to 1990 in East Berlin by . History The journal was published from the first issue in March 1951 onwards by Ernst Hermann Mey ...

''. From 1960-1973 he was chief dramaturge at the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...

. In 1973 he took over the direction of the Staatsoper Dresden in the building of the Schauspielhaus and since 1979 also the direction of the

Staatstheater Dresden The Staatsschauspiel Dresden (State Playhouse Dresden) is a theatre in Dresden. It is maintained by the Free State of Saxony, hence its name. It consists of a main auditorium, the ' (play house), and a studio theatre, the '. It was created in 19 ...

. Seeger brought

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

s like

Harry Kupfer Harry Alfred Robert Kupfer (12 August 1935 – 30 December 2019) was a German opera director and academic. A long-time director at the Komische Oper Berlin, he worked at major opera houses and at festivals internationally. Trained by Walter Fe ...

and

Ruth Berghaus Ruth Berghaus (2 July 1927 – 25 January 1996) was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director. Life and career Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca th ...

and conductors like

Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor of classical music. At the age of 97 he continues to conduct concerts in Europe and the United States. Biography Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, t ...

to Dresden. He rendered great services to the reconstruction of the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...

.''Opern-Lexikon'', 3., erweiterte Auflage, erweiterte Neuausgabe (Lizenzausgabe des Henschelverlages Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin. – Ausgabe für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Berlin (West), Österreich u. d. Schweiz), Wilhelmshaven: Noetzel, Heinrichshofen-Bücher, 1987. Seeger died in Dresden at age 72.

Writings

Books

* ''Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.'' VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1956. * ''Kleines Musiklexikon.'' , Berlin 1958. * ''Biografische Nachrichten von Joseph Haydn.'' Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 1964. * ''Musiklexikon in zwei Bänden.'' VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1966. * ''Wir und die Musik.'' Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin 1968. * with U. Bökel: ''Wie stark ist nicht dein Zauberton.'' , Berlin 1974. * ''Opern-Lexikon.'' 3rd, extended new edition (licensed edition from Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin. - Edition for the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin (West), Austria and Switzerland), Heinrichshofen-Bücher. Florian Noetzel Verlage, Wilhelmshaven 1987, . * ''Musiklexikon in zwei Bänden.'' VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1966. * ''Die große Liedertruhe.'' Verlag Faber&Faber, Leipzig 1997.

Libretti

* ''Lazarillo vom Tormes'', opera by

Siegfried Matthus Siegfried Matthus (13 April 1934 – 27 August 2021) was a German composer, conductor, and festival founder and manager. Some of his operas, such as ''Judith'', were premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin in East Berlin. In 1991, he founded the c ...

, Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin 1964 * ''Der Doppelgänger'', ballet by

Fritz Geißler Fritz Geißler (or Geissler) (16 September 1921 in Wurzen, Saxony – 11 January 1984 in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg) was one of the most important composers of the German Democratic Republic. The son of Elsa and Walther Geißler, he was raised in m ...

* ''Barockkonzert'', by * 1963:

Ritter Blaubart ''Ritter Blaubart'' (''Knight Bluebeard'') is a fairy-tale opera (German: ''Märchenoper'') in three acts by the Austrian composer Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek. Herbert Eulenberg wrote the German libretto, based on his own five-act play with the ...

with Walter Felsenstein after the original by

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (; 23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a prolific French playwright and opera librettist, known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on comic operas with music by Jacques Offenbach. He also wrote occasionally for serious w ...

and

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French people, French author and playwright, known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on the libretto, libretti for Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and comic operas by Jacques Offenbach, inc ...

* 1966:

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

with

Walter Felsenstein Walter Felsenstein (30 May 1901 – 8 October 1975) was an Austrian theater and opera director. He was one of the most important exponents of textual accuracy, productions in which dramatic and musical values were exquisitely researched and b ...

after the original by

Lorenzo Da Ponte Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italians, Italian, later American, opera libretto, librettist, poet and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Wolfgan ...

Literature

* Siegfried Matthus
''Nimmermüde, opernbesessen – Zum Tod von Horst Seeger.''
In ''

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (; ) is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since Reunification of Germany, reunification. It is published by Berl ...

'', 5 January 1999; (obituary)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seeger, Horst 1926 births 1999 deaths People from Oder-Spree People from the Province of Brandenburg 20th-century German musicologists German librettists German opera managers Writers from Brandenburg Musik und Gesellschaft editors Humboldt University of Berlin alumni