Alfred Grünwald

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Alfred Grünwald (born February 16, 1884 in Vienna , † February 25, 1951 in New York ) was an Austrian operetta librettist .

Alfred Grünwald monument in Alfred Grünwald Park

Life

Alfred Grünwald grew up in Vienna as the son of the moderately successful hat manufacturer Moritz Grünwald, who immigrated from Budapest , and his wife Emma, ​​née. Donath, up. After attending secondary school, he first worked in a fur store, but also worked as an extra and choir singer at Viennese theaters and in a Viennese theater agency. After starting to write at school, he soon worked as a columnist and theater critic for the Neue Wiener Journal .

In addition, he wrote smaller stage sketches and one-act plays for cabaret early on, such as the Intime Theater or the Ronacher in the style of the French farces of the 1890s: At the dentist , so far and no further! A nocturnal boudoir scene (1911). As early as 1909, together with Julius Brammer , he had written what was probably his first libretto for the parodistic operetta in an act Elektra by Béla Laszky , which was premiered at Cabaret Fledermaus . This resulted in a collaboration with Brammer that lasted for decades and only broke up at the end of the 1920s. He found a congenial partner in Fritz Löhner-Beda for the operettas by Paul Abraham and Oscar Straus . Sometimes Grünwald wrote libretti and hit texts together with Gustav Beer and Ludwig Herzer .

Grünwald also remained creative as a lieutenant in World War I and drafted texts for patriotic songs.

Grünwald's most successful creative period was the inter-war period with its nostalgia for the Belle Époque before 1914. In collaboration with the composers Paul Abraham , Leo Ascher , Joseph Beer , Nikolaus Brodszky , Willy Engel-Berger , Edmund Eysler , Leo Fall , Emmerich Kálmán , Maurice Lindemann , Franz Lehár , Paul Pallos , Rudolf Sieczyński , Oscar Straus and Robert Stolz , Grünwald wrote the texts for numerous operettas and hits.

In 1930, his comedy The Princess and the Dancer , written together with Alexander Engel, premiered at the Akademietheater (January 8). In 1936, The Complex of Ms. Dodo was another comedy by the author duo, with Rudolf Lothar The Lady with Turquoise .

Grünwald teamed up with Hans Weigel to translate the libretto for the Abraham operetta Roxy and her team of wonders ; the German-language premiere took place on March 25, 1937 in Vienna.

After the “Anschluss” of Austria in 1938 , Grünwald was arrested by the Gestapo because he was Jewish. When he was temporarily released, he took the opportunity and fled to Paris . Since he was known in North America for his successful stage plays, he was able to emigrate to the United States two years later with his wife Mila Löwenstein and his son via Casablanca and Lisbon .

In 1914 his Eysler operetta was The Laughing husband as The Laughing Husband on Broadway have been listed and until 1930 was followed by ten works with his librettos. Now Mister Strauss goes Boston had its world premiere on September 6, 1945 with the music of Robert Stolz in the New Century Theater. After twelve performances the piece was canceled again. Grünwald was unable to build on his pre-war successes, a fate that he shared with most operetta composers. His last libretto, which he wrote together with Gustav Beer for Emmerich Kálmán's operetta Arizona Lady , was only premiered in Bern after his death in 1953 , after Kálmán's son Charles had completed his father's unfinished composition in 1954.

Grünwald was married to Mila Löwenstein. He died in Forest Hills in 1953 . His son Henry Grunwald was the US Ambassador to Vienna from 1987 to 1990.

Appreciation

Memorial plaque on the residential building in Vienna

Quotes

“ The founding of Rome, also a respectable creation, was undertaken by Messrs Romolus and Remus together. We both, Brammer and I, took this into consideration when we decided to write our works together . "
“ I sit at the 'Ab-desk' all day, and Brammer on the 'Borrowing Chair' .”
Alfred Grünwald in an interview when asked whether they can think of the texts on the assembly line.

Works (selection)

  • Elektra, operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Bela Lasky, 1905
  • The merry women of Vienna, operetta, music: Robert Stolz , 1908
  • The Lady in Red, operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Robert Winterberg, 1911
  • Highness dances the waltz, operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Leo Ascher , 1912
  • The laughing husband, operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Edmund Eysler , 1913
  • The ideal wife , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Franz Lehár , 1913
  • The beautiful Swede, operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Robert Winterberg, 1915
  • Die Kaiserin, Operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Leo Fall , 1916
  • The Rose von Stambul , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Leo Fall, 1916
  • Brother levity, operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Leo Ascher, 1917
  • Das Sperrsechserl, operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Robert Stolz, 1920
  • The last waltz , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Oscar Straus , 1920
  • The Bajadere , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Emmerich Kálmán , 1921
  • The Tango Queen , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Franz Lehár, 1921
  • The pearls of Cleopatra , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Oscar Straus, 1923
  • Madi , operetta, (with Leo Stein), music: Robert Stolz, 1923
  • Countess Mariza , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Emmerich Kálmán, 1924
  • The circus princess , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Emmerich Kálmán, 1926
  • Die golden'ne Meisterin , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Edmund Eysler, 1927
  • The Duchess of Chicago , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Emmerich Kálmán, 1928
  • The violet from Montmartre , operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Emmerich Kálmán, 1930
  • Viktoria und ihr Husar , Operetta, (with Fritz Löhner-Beda), music: Paul Abraham , 1930
  • The flower of Hawaii , operetta, (with Fritz Löhner-Beda), music: Paul Abraham, 1931
  • Ball im Savoy , operetta, (with Fritz Löhner-Beda), music: Paul Abraham, 1932
  • A woman who knows what she wants , operetta, music: Oscar Straus
  • Venus in silk, operetta, music: Robert Stolz
  • Fairy tales in the Grand Hotel, operetta, (with Fritz Löhner-Beda), music: Paul Abraham, 1934
  • Dschainah, the girl from the dance house, operetta, (with Fritz Löhner-Beda), music: Paul Abraham, 1935
  • Polish wedding, operetta, (with Fritz Löhner-Beda), music: Joseph Beer , 1937
  • Roxy and her wonder team, operetta, (with Hans Weigel), music: Paul Abraham, 1937
  • Bozena , Operetta, (with Julius Brammer), music: Oscar Straus, 1952

Filmography

  • 1919: The Rose of Stambul

literature

Web links

Commons : Alfred Grünwald  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ and shared the prison cell with Bruno Kreisky
  2. ^ Robert Dachs : Say when parting ... Verlag Der Apfel, Vienna 1997, ISBN 978-3-85450-099-5 , pp. 185f. (unfortunately without further indication of the source).
personal data
SURNAME Grünwald, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian operetta librettist
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1951
Place of death new York