Wiener Zentralfriedhof - Gruppe 30E - Joseph Beck - Johann Nepomuk Beck

Joseph Beck (1848, Vienna – 1903, Pozsony, Hungarian Kingdom) was an Austrian operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

of Hungarian descent, and the son of opera singer

Johann Nepomuk Beck Johann Nepomuk Beck (5 May 1827 – 9 April 1904) was a Hungarian operatic baritone. He possessed a flexible and strong voice that was particularly suited to the French and Italian operatic repertoire. Beginning in 1853, he sang for more than thi ...

. Possessing a rich dramatic voice, he became a particularly lauded artist within the repertoire of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and

Giuseppe 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 to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

. He notably portrayed the role of Richard the Lion Heart in the world premiere of

Albert Dietrich Albert Hermann Dietrich (28 August 182920 November 1908), was a German composer and conductor. In addition to his work, he is remembered for his friendship with Johannes Brahms. Dietrich was born at Golk, near Meissen. From 1851 he studied com ...

's '' Robin Hood'' in 1879 and the role of Amaury de Montfort in the world premiere of Jules Deswert's '' Die Albigenser'' in 1880. He also sang the title role in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) 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 Spanis ...

'' for the opening of the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt in 1880. Beck was a member of various opera companies during his career including the Vienna State Opera, the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...

, and the Metropolitan Opera among others. He gave up his career after 1895 to look after his ailing father, who outlived him by one year. Beck sang a wide repertoire that encompassed German opera,

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...

, and

French opera French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Messiaen. Many foreign-born composers have played a part i ...

. Among the many roles he portrayed are Pizarro in Beethoven's '' Fidelio'', the title role in Peter Cornelius's '' Der Barbier von Bagdad'', Petruchio in

Hermann Goetz Hermann Gustav Goetz (7 December 1840 – 3 December 1876) was a German composer who spent much of his career in Switzerland. He is best known for his 1872 opera ''Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung'', based on Shakespeare's '' The Taming of the Shrew ...

's '' Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung'',

King Solomon King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

in Karl Goldmark’s ''

Die Königin von Saba ' (''The Queen of Sheba'') is an opera in four acts by Karl Goldmark. The German libretto by Hermann Salomon Mosenthal sets a love triangle into the context of the Queen of Sheba's visit to the court of King Solomon, recorded in First Kings (l ...

'', Valentin in Charles Gounod's '' Faust'', Katwald in Heinrich Hofmann's ''

Armin Armin (Armyn) is a given name or surname, and is: * An ancient Indo-European name: ** a German/Dutch given name, *** a modern form of the name Arminius (18/17 BC–AD 21), a German prince who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg F ...

'', Lars in E. Kretschmar's '' Die Folkunger'', Comte de Nevers in

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann 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 ''Robert le di ...

's ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

'', Nélusko in Meyerbeer's '' L'Africaine'', Hunold Singuf in Viktor Nessler's ''

Der Rattenfänger von Hameln ''Der Rattenfänger von Hameln'' (''The Rat-Catcher of Hamelin'' or ''The Piper of Hamelin'') is a grand opera (''Große Oper'') in five acts by Viktor Nessler. The German libretto by is based on a 1875 romantic poem by Julius Wolff about the Pi ...

'', the title role in Gioachino Rossini's '' William Tell'', Friedrich of Telramund in

's '' Lohengrin'', Hans Sachs and Veit Pogner in Wagner's '' Die Meistersinger'', Alberich in Wagner's '' Das Rheingold'', Wolfram in Wagner's '' Tannhäuser'', Kurwenal in Wagner's '' Tristan und Isolde'', the title role in

's '' Rigoletto'', Count di Luna in Verdi's '' Il trovatore'', Renato in Verdi's '' Un ballo in maschera'', and Amonasro in Verdi's '' Aida'' among others.

Literature

Ludwig Eisenberg Ludwig Eisenberg may refer to: * Lale Sokolov (né Ludwig Eisenberg, 1916–2006), Austro-Hungarian-born Slovak-Australian businessman and Holocaust survivor * Ludwig Eisenberg (writer) (1858–1910), Austrian writer and encyclopedist {{hndis ...

: ''Großes biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Bühne im XIX. Jahrhundert''. Verlag von Paul List, Leipzig 1903, p 69 f.,
Digitalisat
. (German) * Elisabeth Th. Hilscher-Fritz
Beck, Familie
In: '' Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon''. Online-Edition, Wien 2002 ff., ; Print: Band 1, edition of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2002, . (German)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Joseph 1848 births 1903 deaths Austrian operatic baritones Musicians from Vienna 19th-century Hungarian male opera singers