Cornelis Bronsgeest

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Cornelis Bronsgeest (born July 24, 1878 in Leiden , Netherlands, † September 22, 1957 in Berlin ) was a Dutch opera singer with a baritone voice , who worked primarily in Berlin.

Life

Cornelis Bronsgeest came to Germany early and had his voice trained by Julius Stockhausen in Frankfurt am Main, among others . After a brief stint in Magdeburg (1902/1903), he became a member of the ensemble at the Hamburg City Theater (today the Hamburg State Opera ). He stayed there until 1908, then he moved to the Berlin Court Opera (today State Opera Unter den Linden ), where he worked until 1919 and then after a break from 1921 to 1923. Bronsgeest made successful guest appearances in Holland, Belgium and France before the First World War and later completed a North American tour as well as guest appearances at the Drury Lane Theater in London, at the Vienna State Opera and other opera houses. In the twenties he even founded his own touring company (Bronsgeest's Wanderoper) with which he performed between 1922 and 1924, especially in his home country of Holland and Belgium. Among the temporary members of this stage were singers such as Fritzi Jokl (soprano), Frida Leider (soprano), Jules Moes (tenor), Leo Schützendorf (bass baritone), Björn Talén (tenor), Henri Angenent (bass baritone), Louis van de Sande (bass baritone), Emmy Bettendorf (soprano) and Else Knepel (mezzo-soprano).

From 1924 Cornelis Bronsgeest got involved in the emerging medium of radio. He was appointed head of the opera department of the Berliner Rundfunk. On his initiative the Berliner Funk-Orchester (today Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin ) and the Berliner Funkchor (today Rundfunkchor Berlin ) were founded. From November 1924, an opera program was broadcast every 14 days under Bronsgeest's direction. He edited the text versions of the operas especially for funk. (The resulting books appeared periodically in print.) Some of the committed singers only came to fame through these programs. For example Joseph Schmidt , who later became enormously popular and was barred from a stage career because of his small height, but who became famous after his discovery by Bronsgeest through radio broadcasts and recordings.

Bronsgeests broadcasting activities ended after the seizure of power by the National Socialists . His financial survival was saved by an engagement from 1935 to 1944 as a director at the Berlin Theater der Jugend, as well as his work as a singing teacher (including for the soprano Ilse Hübener ). During the World War he played operas with a small ensemble in front of German soldiers, and immediately after the end of the war he organized the first opera performances in destroyed Berlin.

In 1916 the composer Hugo Kaun dedicated the song cycle Sieben Gesänge (Opus 105) to the baritone Bronsgeest .

Games (selection)

Discography (selection)

  • From the Royal Court Opera to the State Opera Unter den Linden . 4 CDs, Preiser, Vienna 1997
  • Wagner: Parsifal: The Complete Karl Muck Parsifal Recordings (1913, 1927–1928) . 2 CDs, Naxos, Vienna 1999
  • Forest Opera Sopot. The Bayreuth of the north and its singers . 4 CDs, Preiser, Vienna 2000
  • The Songs of Carl Loewe . CD. Preiser / Pavilion, Vienna 2003
  • From the Hamburg City Theater to the Hamburg State Opera , 4 CDs, Preiser, Vienna 2004

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ CM Gruber:  Schmidt, Joseph (1904–1942), singer and film actor. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 10, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-7001-2186-5 , p. 276 f. (Direct links on p. 276 , p. 277 ).
  2. ↑ Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singer lexicon . Electronic edition of the third, expanded edition. Directmedia, Berlin 2004
personal data
SURNAME Bronsgeest, Cornelis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch opera singer with a baritone voice
DATE OF BIRTH July 24, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Leiden , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1957
Place of death Berlin