Heinrich Bensing

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Heinrich Bensing (born July 26, 1911 in Metz , Lorraine ; † December 30, 1955 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German opera singer ( tenor ).

Life

Bensing studied singing in Cologne and Vienna . He made his debut as an opera singer at the Hanover Opera House . From 1935 to 1939 he was a permanent member of the ensemble at the Cologne Opera House . In 1938 he made several very successful guest appearances at the Frankfurt Opera House , whereupon he was engaged as a permanent member of the ensemble. He then belonged to the Frankfurt Opera until his untimely death in 1955. In 1942 he worked there in the world premiere of the opera Odysseus by Hermann Reutter as Telemachos .

Guest performances took Bensing to the Vienna State Opera (1940–1944) and the Leipzig Opera House (1942–1944). With the ensemble of the Frankfurt Opera, Bensing made guest appearances in Belgrade in 1940 and at the Teatro Liceu in Barcelona in 1944 . After the Second World War he had guest contracts with the Hamburg State Opera (1947–1955), with the Vienna State Opera (1949–1954) and with the Cologne Opera House. After the Second World War he sang Don José in Carmen , the title role in Hoffmann's Tales , the Duke in Rigoletto , Radames in Aida , the title role in Don Carlos and Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly at the Vienna State Opera . In February 1951 he sang the Kalaf in the opera Turandot by Giacomo Puccini alongside Carla Martinis .

In the summer of 1951 he was a guest at the Salzburg Festival as Andres in the Wozzeck opera under the musical direction of Karl Böhm .

repertoire

At the beginning of his career, Bensing often sang the lyric tenor: Idamante in Idomeneo , Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail , Alfredo in La Traviata . At the same time he took over the subject of the youthful heroic tenor like Max in Der Freischütz , Hans in The Bartered Bride and Hugo in Undine . However, Bensing was particularly valued as a singer in the Italian repertoire. He was one of the "small circle German tenors, the vocal splendor and strength for the major roles of Italian opera had." He sang in Italian trade - apart from those already mentioned roles - among other things still: Manrico in Il Trovatore , Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera , Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana and Cavaradossi in Tosca .

Audio documents

Recordings documenting Bensing's voice are not available. However, numerous radio recordings exist . The musical oeuvre of Heinrich Bensing, passed down through radio recordings and live recordings, has been largely published on CD in recent years, partly in special historical documentations.

Bensing is best known to collectors of historical radio recordings for opera recordings made in the late 1940s and early 1950s for the Süddeutscher Rundfunk in Stuttgart and the Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt am Main . The Italian and French operas were recorded in German, in line with standard performance practice at the time. In these recordings, Bensing sings the title role in Ernani (Symphonie-Orchester des Stuttgarter Rundfunks, conductor: Hans Müller-Kray, 1948; according to other information, January 1951), as well as Manrico (Symphonie-Orchester des Hessischen Rundfunks, conductor: Winfried Zillig, 1950), Cavaradossi (Hessischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Kurt Schröder, 1950) and Hoffmann (Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Hans Müller-Kray, 1949). In the German tenor field, Bensing can be heard in radio recordings as Max (Symphonie-Orchester des Stuttgarter Rundfunks, conductor: Hans Müller-Kray, 1950) and as Aegisth (Symphonie-Orchester des Hessischer Rundfunks, conductor: Kurt Schröder, 1953). As a partner of Erna Schlueter , he sang the emperor in The Woman Without Shadow . On the occasion of the re-publication of this radio production from 1950 (Symphonie-Orchester des Hessischer Rundfunks, conductor: Winfried Zillig) on ​​CD, Bensing's “experience in the Italian subject”, his “largely effortless handling of the unpleasant tessitura ” and his “legato-strong and easy to understand juvenile hero tenor ”is highlighted.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Index of roles by Heinrich Bensing in: Chronik der Wiener Staatsoper 1945-2005 , p. 303. Löcker Verlag, Vienna 2006. ISBN 3-85409-449-3
  2. ↑ Season 1950/51, February - August 1951 ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cast list of the Vienna State Opera  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / guschlbauer.com
  3. ↑ Role directory Heinrich Bensing  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Homepage of the Salzburg Festival (with search function)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.salzburgerfestspiele.at  
  4. ↑ Short biography of Hans K. Joachim in: CD booklet The most beautiful from the world of opera . Sung in German. Membrane No. 231833
  5. ↑ Live goodies beyond the beaten track , review in: Online Musik Magazin , 2004
personal data
SURNAME Bensing, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Metz , Lorraine
DATE OF DEATH December 30, 1955
Place of death Frankfurt am Main