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Robert Burg (29 March 18909 February 1946), real name Robert Bartl, was a German
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 ...
in opera, concert and recital. He belonged to the opera in Dresden for almost three decades, where he shaped the revival of
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 â€“ 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
operas. He performed in world premieres including the title roles of Busoni's ''
Doktor Faust ''Doktor Faust'' is an opera by Ferruccio Busoni with a German libretto by the composer, based on the myth of Faust. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time o ...
'' and Hindemith's ''
Cardillac ''Cardillac'', Op. 39, is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story '' Das Fräulein von Scuderi'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Performance history The first ...
''. Burg also appeared regularly at the
Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...
and gave international guest performances.


Life

Robert Bartl was born in Prague as the son of a pianist. During his studies of mathematics there, he took singing lessons with the baritone Hans Pokorny. He was a member of the "Saxonia Prag" while he studied.Robert Burg
Sächsische Biographie
He made his stage debut in Aussig in 1914 as Valentin in Gounod's ''
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
''. In the 1915–16 season, he performed at the German Theatre in Prague and at the
Theater Augsburg The Staatstheater Augsburg is a theatre of Augsburg, Germany. Until 1999 it was called Städtische Bühnen Augsburg, from then until the end of August 2018 it was called ''Theater Augsburg''. It offers on four stages musical theatre, plays and bal ...
. He moved the following season to the Dresden court opera (later: ) in 1918, and remained there until it was closed during the Second World War in 1944. In the 1920s, Burg contributed to the
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 â€“ 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
revival of
Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen to a musical family and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior posts in two G ...
at the house.Burg, Robert
Bayerisches Musiker Lexikon Online
When he appeared in the title role of Mussorgsky's ''
Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...
'' in 1923, the opera was finally established in the repertoire of German opera houses. He performed in many world premieres at the house, notably in the title roles of Busoni's ''
Doktor Faust ''Doktor Faust'' is an opera by Ferruccio Busoni with a German libretto by the composer, based on the myth of Faust. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time o ...
'' in 1925 and Hindemith's ''
Cardillac ''Cardillac'', Op. 39, is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story '' Das Fräulein von Scuderi'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Performance history The first ...
'' in 1926. He was awarded the title
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 ...
. Between 1933 and 1942, Burg appeared at the
Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...
, especially as Alberich in ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
''. He gave guest performances in Berlin and Munich as well as in Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague, Vienna and Zürich, and also gave recitals in towns in Saxony. After the Second World War, Burg gave concerts in the destroyed Dresden and the surrounding area from July 1945. He died the evening before his 32nd stage anniversary, in his dressing room following a
lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
er recital in
Radebeul Radebeul (; ) is a town (''große Kreisstadt'') in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen (district), Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well known for its viticulture, a Karl May Museum, museum dedicated to writer Karl ...
at age 55. Robert Burg als Escamillo.jpg,
As Escamillo in ''
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 ...
'', 1916
Boris Godunow mit Robert Burg als Boris, Grete Merrem-Nikisch als Feodor.jpg,
As
Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...
, with Grete Merrem-Nikisch as his son Feodor, 1923
Robert Burg als Falstaff.jpg,
As
Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
, 1924
Cardillac, 1926. Scene II. Act with Robert Burg as Cardillac and Claire Born as his daughter.jpg,
As
Cardillac ''Cardillac'', Op. 39, is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story '' Das Fräulein von Scuderi'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Performance history The first ...
in 1926, with Claire Born as his daughter


References


Further reading

* Helge Dvorak: ''Biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Burschenschaft.'' Band II: ''Künstler.'' Winter, Heidelberg 2018, , .


External links

* *
"Robert Burg"
picture as
Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an 1842 opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi' ...
at the of the
Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burg, Robert 1890 births 1946 deaths German operatic baritones Pseudonyms Musicians from Prague 20th-century German male opera singers