Emilie Genast

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Emilie Merian-Genast around 1865

Emilie Genast , married Emilie Merian-Genast (born May 26, 1833 in Weimar ; † March 6, 1905 ibid) was a German singer ( mezzo-soprano ).

Life

The song and oratorio singer Emilie Genast was the youngest of the five children of the singer and theater director Eduard Genast (1797–1866) and his wife, the singer Christine, née Böhler , (1798–1860).

It is not known where Emilie received her vocal training except from her father. Claudius Böhm suspects private lessons from Franz Götze, who went from Weimar to the Leipzig Conservatory as a singing teacher in 1853 .

“Her voice, a soft mezzo-soprano, was not great, but of a noble, sympathetic timbre; her lecture is inspired through and through, full of poetic magic. "

- La Mara (1837–1927) : Liszt and the women , Leipzig 1911

Although she was not on the opera stage, her concert appearances made her one of the leading singers of the 1850s and 1860s. Composers dedicated songs to her, initially her brother-in-law Joachim Raff (1822–1882). She had a special relationship with Franz Liszt (1811–1888), who was enthusiastic about her interpretation, especially the title role of his oratorio Die Legende von der Sankt Elisabeth , and dedicated numerous songs to her in the late 1850s, which she also premiered. For her part, she inspired him to further compositions. Their friendship lasted to the end of his life. In 1874 he dedicated the legend of St. Cäcilia to her (for mezzo-soprano, mixed choir and orchestra), and she was one of the few who was allowed to visit him at his sick bed in Bayreuth .

Liszt also introduced her to Richard Wagner (1813–1883). In 1862 she sang Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder with Hans von Bülow (1830-1894) to his publisher Franz Schott (1811-1874).

Image of the age of the singer

1863, at the height of her fame, she married Emil Merian, the doctoral director of a Swiss insurance company , and moved to Basel . The couple had three children. The son and the older daughter were born in Basel, the younger daughter in Weimar, where the family moved in 1868 after the husband was seriously ill. In 1869 the older daughter died, in May 1873 the father followed his daughter. Single with the two small children, of whom the daughter was still chronically ill, Emilie could not fully resume her concert career, although her performances were highly praised. She established a private salon where chamber music was played and she also sang. She taught, wrote music reviews and was involved in charities.

After two strokes , Emilie Merian-Genast died on March 6, 1905 at the age of 71 in Weimar.

literature

  • La Mara : Emilie Merian-Genast . In: Liszt and the women . Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1911, p. 205–220 ( google.de ).
  • Claudius Böhm: Post from Emilie Genast . In: Leipziger Blätter . 92, autumn 2016, p. 40-43 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Claudius Böhm, Leipziger Blätter 92, p. 42
  2. ^ Franz Liszt's letters to Emilie Merian-Genast. Retrieved October 1, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Healed, Emilie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Merian-Genast, Emilie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German singer (mezzo-soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH May 26, 1833
PLACE OF BIRTH Weimar
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1905
Place of death Weimar