Elsie Altmann-Loos

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elsie Altmann-Loos

Elsie Altmann-Loos , née Altmann (born December 27, 1899 in Vienna , Austria ; † May 19, 1984 in Buenos Aires , Argentina ), was an Austrian dancer, actress and operetta singer. From 1919 to 1926 she was the second wife of the architect Adolf Loos , his biographer and universal heir.

Life

childhood

Elsie Altman was born on December 27, 1899 as the daughter of Adolf (Aron) Altmann in Vienna. The middle-class parents made it possible for her to attend the progressive Black Forest School , in which Oskar Kokoschka and her future husband Adolf Loos taught, among others . She danced from an early age, which was particularly encouraged in this institution.

Life with Adolf Loos

Elsie Altmann got to know the architect Adolf Loos during her time at the Black Forest School. Although she was already engaged, the 17-year-old and the 30-year-old, married architect began a relationship. Elsie Altmann's fiancé at the time, Alexander Grünfeld , to whom she was engaged by her mother at the age of 14, was meanwhile at war. On January 9, 1918, she married Grünfeld - despite the relationship with Loos - but left him on their wedding night. After the divorce from his wife Lina, arrogance prevented Adolf Loos from marrying Elsie. Only after she could show her first successes on stage did he agree. At the same time Elsie's father was against the wedding with Loos. Elsie Altmann was able to successfully obtain an early declaration of majority in court. And so the wedding took place on July 4, 1919. After a short time, the dancer brought home more money than the architect, and as a result she also took on numerous engagements abroad. Sometimes her husband accompanied her on her travels. However, the couple were consistently not particularly wealthy. Despite his reputation as a controversial artist, Loos rarely received any lucrative commissions. At the same time, he didn't want to forego luxury - he was drawn more and more to the Cote d'Azur . In order to maintain this lavish lifestyle, Elsie Altmann not only had to accept more and more engagements, but also had to give dance lessons. Dissatisfied with this lifestyle, she took - much to Loos' displeasure - a soubrette role at the Theater an der Wien . The couple hardly saw each other anymore: Adolf Loos had an elaborate lifestyle in Paris, she lived in Vienna. But it was up to her to keep paying off her husband's numerous creditors. Essentially, she financed her husband, who hardly received any orders. The relationship between the two deteriorated more and more, Elsie was criticized more and more by her husband, he no longer found her as attractive as before. At the same time he drank more and more alcohol and hung around in brothels and the red light scene. He was particularly outraged by his suggestion that a surgeon break Elsie's legs to lengthen them. A contract with the Shubert Theater in New York gave her the opportunity to free herself from the overwhelming situation. On the way to New York, she had the separation carried out by her lawyer, and after her return to Europe she no longer entered Loos' apartment. Loos married a third time in July 1929, the young Claire Beck (1904–1942). This marriage ended in divorce in 1932. From Prague, where Claire moved with her mother in 1936, both were deported to Theresienstadt at the beginning of World War II , later deported to Riga and murdered there. After the end of the Second World War , Elsie Altmann-Loos became the administrator of the estate and became involved in decades of disputes with the Republic of Austria and the Albertina in Vienna . In her memoir "Mein Leben mit Adolf Loos", which was published uncensored for the first time in 1984, she describes life together in detail and unadorned.

Career as a dancer and operetta performer

As a 16-year-old Elsie Altmann made her debut in a performance at the Black Forest School together with the then 15-year-old later pianist Rudolf Serkin . She gave her first public dance evening in May 1919.

"Das Neue 8-Uhr-Blatt wrote:" At yesterday's dance evening with the young Elsie Altmann you got to know a very delightful, musical, but above all extremely distinctive artist who finally convinced that dance means the most perfect grace when it comes from Such grace and happiness is created. The 'Burletta' by Reger : delight, life turned into music, grace; the 'Musenpolka' by Johann Strauss father : charm, youth, laughter, all dances an unspeakable song of praise to happiness and loveliness these two dances and a Hungarian dance by Brahms asked for repetition, but one would have loved to have each piece performed over and over again. (...) "

A year later, the features section assigned her a special position. She dances with her eyes and mouth. Her childlike nature is particularly emphasized. The traces of her ballet training are very small, she does not do any special tricks and still exerts a “fakir-like magic” on the audience. In the run-up to her first appearance, it was feared that her dance was cabaret - the result was a great triumph.

As Elsie Altmann reported in the “ Neue Wiener Journal ” in 1924, the beginning of her career went to her complete satisfaction. She is convinced of her art, earns money with it and has traveled a lot. A personal turning point for her, however, was the appearance of the Mistinguett with the chanson "J'ai fait ça en douce" in a revue at the Casino de Paris, which she was able to experience during a guest performance in Paris.

“The fact that she felt copied by all the dancers was one reason for her artistic reorientation:“ The dancers, who had recently lived so well from Grete Wiesenthal's blissful, painful smile, suddenly began to shut up point and throw your eyes around according to my recipe. I already began to dread myself. ""

The hectic life between appearances and lessons that she gave finally led to the decision in May 1923 to take singing lessons from Professor Wolf in Postgasse. After a six-month apprenticeship, she managed to get an engagement at the Theater an der Wien. Director Hubert Marischka and Emmerich Kálmán showed courage and cast the beginner in their new operetta production, Countess Mariza . Elisie Altmann made her debut in the soubrette role at the world premiere on February 28, 1924 and received a two-year contract. During this time she also worked as a columnist. In late 1926 she signed a contract for a dance series in New York at the Shubert Theater . In 1926/27 she was also engaged for the Vienna City Theater, and in 1928/29 again at the Theater an der Wien. In 1933 she was traveling with her own dance group in Argentina.

exile

After her engagement in South America in 1933, Elsie Altmann did not return to Europe. Because of her Jewish origins, she stayed in Argentina. After Adolf Loos ' death in the same year, she became a universal heiress. Due to the events in Germany, an administrator was finally appointed who sold the architect's estate for a ridiculous price. After the end of the war she tried unsuccessfully to assert her rights against the Republic of Austria. Elsie Altmann married again (she later goes by the name Elsie Altmann-Loos de Gonzales Varona). In Argentina she worked as a translator and wrote her memoirs in 1964/65, which were published in 1968 in a censored form under the title "Adolf Loos, der Mensch" and only in 1984 uncensored as "Mein Leben mit Adolf Loos". In the same year the cookbook “Felix Austria. Un libro de cocina. Recetas y relatos de la Viena Imperial ”. Elsie Altmann-Loos received the Great Decoration of Honor in 1980 for services to the Republic of Austria , but until her death there was no agreement on the Loos estate. She died on May 19, 1984 in Buenos Aires .

Works

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Susanne Blume Berger, Michael Doppelhofer, Gabriele Mauthe: Manual Austrian authors of Jewish origin 18th to 20th century. Volume 1: A-I. Edited by the Austrian National Library. Saur, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-598-11545-8 , p. 197.
  2. ^ Siglinde Bolbecher, Konstantin Kaiser: Lexicon of Austrian Exile Literature, Vienna-Munich 2000, p. 32.
  3. ^ Elsie Altmann-Loos: "My life with Adolf Loos", Vienna 1984, p. 26.
  4. ↑ Renate Wagner: "Home are you great daughters", Vienna 1996, pp. 188–191.
  5. ↑ Altmann-Loos 1984, pp. 173-176.
  6. ^ Wagner, p. 192.
  7. ^ Wagner, pp. 188f.
  8. ↑ Neues 8-Uhr-Blatt, Vienna, May 16, 1919 cited. n. Elsie Altmann-Loos 1984, pp. 224f.
  9. ↑ Karin Michaëlis : "Elsie Altmann" in: Die Dame, 47th vol., No. 12, end of March 1920 quoted. in Elsie Altmann-Loos 2013, pp. 225–228.
  10. ↑ Elsie Altmann: “From dance to operetta” in: Neues Wiener Journal , April 1, 1924 quoted. n. Elsie Altmann-Loos 2013, p. 229.
  11. ↑ ibid. Pp. 228-231.
  12. ↑ Wagner p. 192.
  13. ↑ Bolbecher, Kaiser p. 32.
  14. ↑ Wagner p. 192.
  15. ↑ Bolbecher, Kaiser p. 32.
  16. ↑ Wagner p. 192.
personal data
SURNAME Altmann-Loos, Elsie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian dancer, actress and operetta singer, wife of Adolf Loos
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH May 19, 1984
Place of death Buenos Aires