Josef Ichhäuser (1852–1920), known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Josef Josephi (also spelled Joseffy), was an Austrian Empire-born singer (

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

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 actor.

Life

Ichhäuser was born on in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. He was the son of a cloth merchant. He graduated from high school in 1871 and made his debut in 1873 in Vienna in a small role as a soldier in

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

’s '' Fiesco''. His apprenticeship led him to

Nagykanizsa Nagykanizsa (; , or just ''Kaniža/Kanjiža''; ; ; ; ), known colloquially as Kanizsa, is a medium-sized city in Zala County in southwestern Hungary. It is a city with county rights. It lies not far from Lake Balaton at the meeting point of five ...

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

and

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. In 1878 he joined the Ringtheater in Vienna. In 1880 he played at the

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...

, and in 1883 at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...

. Successes in performing vocal roles led him to the decision to become a singer. He sang in

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

's ''

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 ...

'' and ''

The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...

'', and in

Vilém Blodek Vilém Blodek, born Vilém František Plodek (October 3, 1834, Prague – May 1, 1874, Prague), was a Czech composer, flautist, and pianist. Biography Blodek was born into a poor family and was educated at a German Piarist school in Prague. Af ...

's comic one-act opera ' (''In the Well''). Together with Alexander Girardi, Karl Lindau, and , he formed the ''Elitekorps'' (elite corps) of the Viennese operetta. In 1900 he moved to Berlin. From 1906 he was for two years at the and then engaged for five years at the . He stood for the last time on the stage on New Year's Eve, 1919. He died on in Berlin and was buried at the Hietzing Cemetery in Vienna.

Main roles

*Jan Janicki in '' Der Bettelstudent'' by

Carl Millöcker Carl (or Karl) Joseph Millöcker ( – ), was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor. __NOTOC__ He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Vienna Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, he ...

(1882) *Guido in ''

'' by

(1883) *Conte Erminio in '' Gasparone'' by Carl Millöcker (1884) *Botho von Wendt in '' Waldmeister'' by Johann Strauss II (1895)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Josephi, Josef 1852 births 1920 deaths Male singers from Austria-Hungary Male actors from Austria-Hungary Operatic tenors