Georg Wörtge

Georg Wörtge (born November 22, 1888 in Hamburg , † December 7, 1977 in Dresden ) was a German actor, operetta buffo , theater director and director . Since 1954 he was an honorary member of the Dresden Operetta Theater, today's Dresden State Operetta .

Life

Georg Wörtge was born on November 22nd, 1888 as the son of a Protestant master tailor who immigrated from Hesse and a woman from Hamburg in the poor district of Neustadt in Hamburg. His father wanted him to get a commercial education, but the theater attracted him. In 1907, when he saw a guest performance by Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus , his decision was finally made.

After his audition with him, Georg Wörtge received a free position and free lessons with the actor Alexander Strakosch and directing lessons with Berthold Held (co-founder of the cabaret Schall und Rauch ). In February 1909 he got his first big chance when he was allowed to step in at short notice as a young comedian in Johann Nestroy's Revolution in Krähwinkel and even Reinhardt praised him afterwards.

After several engagements, he returned to Hamburg in 1917 in this subject at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus. He took singing lessons and in 1919 began to work as an operetta buffo at the Central Theater in Dresden. Summer guest performances took him to Breslau , to the Central Theater in Magdeburg and he undertook a tour of America. In 1923 he was engaged at the Dresden Residenz Theater . Initially not involved, he often made guest appearances in Chemnitz , Halle (Saale) and Hamburg . Wörtge and Carl Sukfüll took over the management of the two theaters in 1933 after the collapse of the Rotter Group , to which both the Central and Residenz theaters belonged. He himself remained an actor and took care of administrative matters.

In April 1936, as a result of a Nazi intrigue, the management of the Central Theater was handed over to the Hentschke Empire, which was protected by the Reich Propaganda Ministry (the Residenz Theater had already been closed in 1934). As one of the two theater directors, Wörtge took over the Albert Theater, which had just been renamed “Theater des Volkes” . Under his direction, operetta world premieres such as Eduard Künneke's Traumland and Fred Raymond's Die Perle von Tokay (February 7, 1941) took place, in which Wörtge was senior director and was also on stage himself.

With the destruction of Dresden, the theater life in Dresden ended for the time being, from June 1945 he staged and played in Fritz Randow's artist troupe , especially in the east of Dresden. His first post-war work was as a director (and actor) the operetta Das Dreimäderlhaus . In the chaos of the post-war period, its popularity and its closeness to the people was also the resurgence of part of the lost art city of Dresden.

In the first operetta staged at the "Apollo Theater" (which is the first name of there until 2016 operated Dresden State Operetta ), the Merry Widow by Franz Lehár , he was the Baron Zeta on October 2, 1947 for the first time on the stage to 1973 his life became.

As a director, he primarily awakened the traditional interpretation of operettas. From 1954 he was a specialist advisor for the Bautzen City Theater . He gave acting lessons to young colleagues like Wolfgang Roeder and Erich Weber ( The Four Brummers ). In the same year he received an honorary membership of the Dresden Operetta Theater . He created what was later to be called the singer actor .

He was celebrated for his depictions and his art of characterization, he designed his characters in Mein Blaue Himmel or In Frisco the devil is loose (text: Otto Schneidereit , music: Guido Masanetz ) with the same intensity, warmth of heart and comedy, like parade roles in Die Csárdásfürstin or The Gypsy Baron . Even very subtle texts, such as by Klaus Eidam, were part of it. His favorite song was Mausi, you were sweet tonight from Victoria and her hussar from Paul Abraham .

He died in Dresden in 1977, very old and highly revered.

Librettist

Under the pseudonym Georg Wörner he wrote the libretto for the operetta His Highness, the Lakai . The composer was Eduard Czajanek, a student of Richard Heuberger . The premiere was in April 1934 at the Görlitz Theater. Georg Wörtge never mentioned this later, the work is now forgotten.

personality

Georg Wörtge was an outstanding personality in cheerful music theater. His trademarks were his charming, winning appearance in the manner of a Maurice Chevalier , his striking comedy and his ability to combine language and music effectively. For the "exceptional artist", meanwhile revered as Papa Wörtge , a festival program with the title "There is only one time" was arranged on January 17, 1973 for his stage farewell. For this, the researcher Andreas Schwarze found the following words:

"This is how it came to an end, the unique stage career of Georg Wörtge, who danced through four social systems like on a tightrope - as a comedian of the century."

- Andreas Schwarze : Metropolis of pleasure

family

Georg Wörtge was with the choir singer and later soloist Grete, geb. Eckart married.

literature

• Andreas Schwarze: Metropolis of Pleasure - Musical People's Theater in Dresden from 1844 to the present day Dresden: SAXO'Phon 2016. ISBN 978-3-943444-59-9 . Pp. 76-85.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Schwarze, p. 81.