Philine Fischer, ''née'' Franke, married name Sannemüller (1 February 1919 – 22 January 2001) was a German opera and concert singer (
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 ...
).
Life and career
Born in
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
, Fischer made her debut in 1944 as "Micaela" in Bizet's ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'' at the
Oldenburgisches Staatstheater
The Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (Oldenburg State Theatre) is a German theater in the city of Oldenburg, Lower Saxony.
Beginnings
The theatre was first opened in the times of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, on 1 February 1833. At that time it w ...
. After the success of the Handel oratorio ''
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
'' conducted by
Hermann Abendroth
Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth (19 January 1883 – 29 May 1956) was a German conductor.
Early life
Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, the son of a bookseller. Several other members of the family were artists in diverse dis ...
in the
St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
The St. Thomas Church () is a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany, located at the western part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's central district. Martin Luther preached in the church in 1539. It is associated with several well-known ...
in 1945, she advanced to the status of
prima donna
In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given.
''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...
of the 50s. From 1945 to 1952 she was engaged at the
Leipzig Opera
The Leipzig Opera () is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany.
History
Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspiel perfo ...
and from 1952 to 1980 at the
Halle Opera House
The Halle Opera House () is an opera house located in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Originally named the Halle Town Theatre (), the theatre building was constructed in 1886 by architect Heinrich Seeling.
On 31 March, 1945, a bomb attack des ...
, which awarded her honorary membership. She performed regularly at the
Handel Festival, Halle
The Handel Festival (in German: Händel-Festspiele) in Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt, is an international music festival concentrating on the music of George Frideric Handel in the composer's birthplace. It was founded on May 25, 1922 and it ...
and she sang 14 operas by Handel, among others ''
Alcina
''Alcina'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 34) is a 1735 opera by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', a work set to music in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he had acquired a year later during his t ...
'', ''
Deidamia'' and Mahamaya (as the character of Cleofide in the original libretto is named in a German translation) in ''
Poro
The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a men's secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mane people (the Mandé peoples, Mande Elites leading large-scale migrations from the Mali Empire into the southern ...
''. She worked with the likes of
Horst-Tanu Margraf,
Rudolf Heinrich
Rudolf Heinrich (10 February 1926 – 1 December 1975) was a German stage designer.
Life and career
Born in Halle (Saale), Heinrich attended the painting class of the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle from 1946 to 1948 ...
, Heinz Rückert,
Rolf Apreck,
Werner Enders,
Kurt Hübenthal,
Günther Leib and Hellmuth Kaphahn. In Hamburg she was appointed
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 ...
. Her last role in Halle was Herodias in ''
Salome
Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...
'' by Richard Strauss. She retired in 1981 and died in Leipzig at age 81.
She was a member of the board of directors of the in
Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund and was elected in October 1963 at the suggestion of the
Cultural Association of the GDR
The Cultural Association of the GDR (, KB) was a federation of local clubs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It formed part of the Socialist Unity Party-led National Front, and sent representatives to the Volkskammer. The association had ...
as a successor candidate in the
People's Chamber
The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it.
The Volkskammer was initial ...
of the German Democratic Republic.
[''Kammersängerin Philine Fischer Nachfolgekandidat für die Volkskammer''. In '']Neues Deutschland
(, , abbr. nd) is a left-wing German daily newspaper, headquarters, headquartered in Berlin.
For 43 years it was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), which governed East Germany (officially known as the ...
'', dated 20 September 1963, .
Discography
* Mahamaya in Händel's ''Poro'', Händel-Festspielorchester Halle, conductor:
Horst-Tanu Margraf, recorded 7/1958, Berlin Classics 1998 (0093742BC)
Further reading
*
Minister of Intra-German Relations
The Federal Minister of Intra-German Relations () was a federal cabinet minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The office was created under the title of Federal Minister of All-German Affairs (''Bundesminister für gesamtdeu ...
(editor): ''SBZ-Biographie''. Deutscher Bundes-Verlag, Berlin 1964, .
* Präsidium der Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (editor): ''Die Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 4. Wahlperiode''. Staatsverlag der DDR, Berlin 1964, .
* Peter Krumbiegel, Clemens Prokop: ''Jauchzet, frohlocket: Du musst kein Schwein sein. Von Bach, den Prinzen und einer Leipziger Musikerfamilie''.
Bärenreiter
Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...
publishing house, Kassel 2004, .
* ''Fischer, Philine.'' In
Karl-Josef Kutsch
Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and music biographer. With the Dutch musicologist Leo Riemens he co-authored the ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers.
Life ...
,
Leo Riemens
Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, whic ...
: ''
Großes Sängerlexikon
''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The fi ...
''. Directmedia Digitale Bibliothek 33, Berlin 2000, .
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Philine
1919 births
2001 deaths
Musicians from Leipzig
German operatic sopranos
Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit
Recipients of the Banner of Labor
Handel Prize winners
20th-century German women opera singers
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni