Richard Breitenfeld (13 October 1869 – 16 December 1944) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

. He was a member of the

Frankfurt Opera The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's '' Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Fre ...

ensemble and was murdered in the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

. Breitenfeld was born in Reichenberg,

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

(now in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

) and made his debut in 1897 as Count Luna in Verdi's '' Il trovatore'' in Cologne. In 1912, he sang the role of the count in Act II of

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic pluralit ...

's ''

Der ferne Klang ''Der ferne Klang'' (''The Distant Sound'') is an opera by Franz Schreker, set to his own libretto. Begun in 1903, it was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 18 August 1912. It was the composer's breakthrough to fame, and was frequently perf ...

'' in its world premiere at the Frankfurt Opera. The contralto

Magda Spiegel Magda Spiegel (1887–1944) was a German contralto who was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble and was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentra ...

, also of the Frankfurt Opera, was murdered in Auschwitz. According to Peter Hugh Reed writing in ''

American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chan ...

'' (1949), Breitenfeld recorded for Odeon and

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

between 1910 and 1914. Richard Breitenfeld has a memorial stone in Frankfurt.Great singers, from the seventeenth century to the present day Kurt Pahlen - 1974 Ottilie Metzger-Lattermann, who before 1914 had sung in all the important opera-houses and at Bayreuth, died in Auschwitz; the baritone Richard Breitenfeld, also a Wagner lead, in Theresienstadt.

References

1869 births 1944 deaths Musicians from Liberec 20th-century German musicians German operatic baritones German people who died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto German people executed in Nazi concentration camps Jewish opera singers 19th-century German Jews 20th-century German male musicians German Bohemian people Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Germany {{Germany-opera-singer-stub