Alois Burgstaller

Alois Burgstaller around 1896

Alois Burgstaller (also Aloys Burgstaller ; born September 22, 1871 in Holzkirchen , Bavaria, † April 19, 1945 in Gmund am Tegernsee , Bavaria) was a German chamber singer .

Life

Burgstaller was a journeyman watchmaker ; his singing talent was discovered at an amateur theater performance in Holzkirchen. He got to know Cosima Wagner through the then Munich General Music Director Hermann Levi , who recognized and promoted his talent. After studying singing in Frankfurt and Bayreuth, Burgstaller sang Siegfried for the first time at the Bayreuth Festival in 1896 .

In the following years he sang all the major roles in Richard Wagner's works in Bayreuth and other major opera houses.

After guest appearances in Paris, Zurich, Budapest, London, Amsterdam and Moscow, he was called to the Metropolitan Opera New York , of which he was a member from 1903 to 1909. From there he appeared in many well-known opera houses in the USA, such as San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, until he gave his last performance at the Metropolitan Opera on January 23, 1909. In 1908 he returned to Holzkirchen. He spent his twilight years in St. Quirin, municipality of Gmund, on the Tegernsee.

The Holzkirchen market gave Alois Burgstaller honorary citizenship and named a street after him. He found his final resting place in the grave of his parents in the old cemetery next to the plague chapel.

His voice was recorded on a Mapleson cylinder .

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personal data
SURNAME	Burgstaller, Alois
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German chamber singer
DATE OF BIRTH	September 22, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH	Holzkirchen , Bavaria
DATE OF DEATH	April 19, 1945
Place of death	Gmund am Tegernsee , Bavaria