Ernestine Schumann-Heink

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Silent night, holy night , sung by Schumann-Heink
Ernestine Schumann-Heink as a young woman

Ernestine Schumann-Heink , née Ernestine Rössler (born June 15, 1861 in Lieben , † November 17, 1936 in Hollywood , USA ) was an Austrian-American opera singer ( alto ).

Life

Schumann-Heink, the daughter of the Austrian major Ernst Rößler, received singing lessons from Marietta von LeClair in Graz . As early as 1877 she made her debut in Graz with the alto part from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony . On October 13, 1878, she made her operatic debut in the role of Azucena in Verdi's The Troubadour at the Dresden Court Opera under the name Tini Rössler . She completed her training in Dresden with Karl August Krebs , Aloyse Michalesi and Franz Wüllner and married the secretary of the opera Ernst Heink here in 1882 , from whom she was divorced in 1893.

After appearances in the Berlin Kroll Opera , she was engaged at the Hamburg Opera in 1883 , where she stayed until 1897. With roles such as Georges Bizet's Carmen and Ortrud in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin , she achieved her breakthrough as an important opera singer. In 1894 she married the actor and director of the Thalia Theater Paul Schumann (1859–1904) in Hamburg . One of her sons was the later American film actor Ferdinand Schumann-Heink (1893-1958), who was born in Hamburg .

She also performed at festivals and concerts in Great Britain, Norway and Sweden during this period. In 1892 she appeared at the Royal Opera House in the premiere of the Ring cycle under Gustav Mahler as Fricka, Erda and Waltraute and in Tristan as Brangäne. From 1896 to 1914 she appeared regularly at the Bayreuth Festival , where she a. a. the Mary in the Flying Dutchman , the Magdalene in the Meistersinger , the Erda, the Waltraute, the Grimgerde and the Siegrune in the Ring cycle as well as the voice from the heights in Parsifal sang.

Villa Tini , Schumann-Heink's home in Kötzschenbroda from 1899 to 1929

She also made a guest appearance around 1900 a. a. in Amsterdam, London, Paris and Vienna. In 1898 she appeared for the first time in Chicago , and the following year she made her debut with Ortrud from Wagner's Lohengrin at the Metropolitan Opera , where she performed regularly until 1932. She married the Chicago attorney William Rapp , who became her manager, in 1905, her third marriage , and became a US citizen in 1908.

In 1909 Schumann-Heink sang Klytämnestra at the premiere of Richard Strauss ' Elektra at the Dresden Court Opera . During the First World War she gave concerts in support of the Red Cross and other organizations and performed in front of American soldiers. After a military mass in the Balboa Park Organ Pavilion , she was made honorary colonel of the 21st Infantry Regiment in 1917; In 1919 she raised money to build a war memorial in Balboa Park.

On Black Thursday 1929 Schumann-Heink lost almost all of her fortune and therefore had to resume intensive concert activities in order to earn money. In 1932, at the age of 71, she gave her farewell performance at the Metropolitan Opera as Erda in Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen . In 1935 she worked with great success on the sound film Here's to Romance .

Schumann-Heink recorded records with Columbia , HMV and Victor Records , as well as two private recordings from 1898 and recordings on Mapleson cylinders from the Metropolitan Opera.

Schumann-Heink was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (6640 Hollywood Blvd.) .

literature

Web links

Commons : Ernestine Schumann-Heink  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ernestine Schumann-Heink
  2. ^ Frank Andert: "Villa Tini" under the stars and stripes. (PDF) Part 70. In: Kötzschenbrodaer stories. November 2014, accessed September 27, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Schumann-Heink, Ernestine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rössler, Ernestine (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-American opera singer (alto)
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Love
DATE OF DEATH November 17, 1936
Place of death Hollywood , USA