Hugo Krüger (singer)

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Hugo Krüger , actually Theodor Karl Hugo Freiherr von Gillern , Hugo von Gillern for short , (born January 11, 1829 in Breslau , † November 19, 1871 in Berlin ) was a German opera singer ( tenor ) at the Royal Opera in Berlin.

family

Hugo von Gillern came from the Silesian noble family of the Barons von Gillern . He was the son of the Prussian officer Dominik Freiherr von Gillern and Henriette nee. Krüger, whose family name he used as his stage name . Von Gillern was married to Anna von Zimmermann since 1862. His daughter Eva, married Wachenhusen , was also an opera singer and later a celebrated lady of the Ahrenshooper artists' colony .

Life

Gillern studied architecture in Breslau until 1849 , but was more enthusiastic about theater and singing, in which he tried himself. At the encouragement of the singer Emma Babnigg , he decided to become a singer and, after enjoying her lessons for a short time, made his first theatrical attempt on November 27, 1850 at the Breslau theater as Lyonel in Martha . He succeeded so well that he was immediately engaged by the theater management .

Gillern, who now appeared under the stage name Hugo Krüger , ended his engagement in Breslau after a short time and went to Berlin with a recommendation, where he was accepted and sponsored by the general manager of the Berlin opera, Botho von Hülsen . He received further singing lessons from the famous choir director Joseph Elsner . From 1852 he was permanently engaged for smaller roles at the Berlin Court Opera.

In 1857 he received an engagement from General Manager Wolf Adolf August von Lüttichau at the royal court theater in Dresden , where he made his debut as Tamino in Mozart's Magic Flute . However, he returned to Berlin in 1858 with a more advantageous contract, where he remained employed until the end of his life.

Krüger sang in Giacomo Meyerbeer's coronation hymn , which Meyerbeer had composed on the occasion of Wilhelm I's coronation . In 1865 he had a guest appearance at the theater in Aachen . In 1871 he organized a festival for the Berlin opera singers in honor of Richard Wagner's visit to Berlin.

Hugo Krüger lived a dissolute artistic life and died at the age of 42.

meaning

Krüger mainly sang the first lyric tenor roles, e.g. B. as Lyonel in Martha , Ottavio ( Don Giovanni ), Stradella ( Alessandro Stradella ), Tamino ( Die Zauberflöte ), Pylades ( Iphigénie en Tauride ) and Joseph of Egypt (in Méhul 's opera of the same name), in which he celebrated the greatest successes. He later developed into a tenor buffo and took on roles such as Wamba ( Der Templer und die Jüdin ), Jaquino ( Fidelio ), Dickson ( White Lady ) and David ( Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg ).

literature

personal data
SURNAME Kruger, Hugo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gillern, Theodor Karl Hugo Freiherr von (real name); Gillern, Hugo von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (tenor) at the Royal Opera in Berlin
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1829
PLACE OF BIRTH Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH November 19, 1871
Place of death Berlin