Helly Möslein

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Memorial plaque for Helly Möslein and Hermann Leopoldi

Helly Möslein (actually Helen Möslein, born August 4, 1914 in Vienna ; † July 6, 1998 there ) was an Austrian lyricist , soubrette and cabaret artist .

Life

Helly Möslein was the daughter of Austrian emigrants who moved to Chicago . In contrast to her family, however, she wanted to return to Austria. She returned home in 1930 and studied piano and singing at the Vienna Conservatory for four years. She received her first engagement as an opera soubrette in Opava , but at the request of her parents she was not allowed to do it and had to return to America.

In America she worked as a singer with partly Austrian repertoire and received first prize in the annual Chicago Tribune singing competition . The decisive turning point in her life came in 1939 when she met the composer and cabaret artist Hermann Leopoldi in New York , with whom she worked until his death in 1959 and to whom she was connected as his partner. They performed together, for example in the Alt Wien bar. Möslein expanded Leopoldi's repertoire to include English songs, which enabled the duo to adapt to the tastes of the American audience. Engagements followed at Carnegie Hall , Broadway and the Orchestra Hall in Chicago.

Although they were successful in America, they both longed to return to Austria. When, after the war, well-known artists such as Paul Hörbiger , Karl Farkas or Robert Stolz contacted the couple by letter and the Austrian government issued an invitation, Helly Möslein and Hermann Leopoldi returned to Vienna in 1947, where they gave their first concert in the sold-out concert hall celebrated a great success. In the 50s, the duo also performed successfully in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

In 1955 their son Ronald was born. At the height of his career, Hermann Leopoldi died of a heart attack in 1959. After her death in 1998, Helly Möslein was buried together with Hermann Leopoldi in an honorary grave in the Vienna Central Cemetery (15C-2-18).

In 2002 the Helly-Möslein-Weg in Vienna- Meidling was named after the singer, which is located next to the parallel Hermann-Leopoldi-Weg.

meaning

In her career, Helly Möslein was inextricably linked with Hermann Leopoldi, whose songs and chansons she interpreted congenially, often together with him in duets. Well-known songs were in a small café in Hernals , it's best to have a permanent employee or Schnucki, oh Schnucki . Many of her songs happily reflected the attitude towards life of the 1950s, the post-war and post-war reconstruction period.

During her time in America Möslein wrote songs by and for Hermann Leopoldi in English.

See also

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Möslein, Helly
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian singer and cabaret artist
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH July 6, 1998
Place of death Vienna