Kurt Böhme (singer)
Kurt Böhme (born May 5, 1908 in Dresden , † December 20, 1989 in Munich ) was a German opera singer ( bass ).
Life
Böhme studied at the Dresden Conservatory and made his debut in Bautzen in 1930 in Carl Maria von Weber's Freischütz . Even this first appearance was remarkable: He sang two roles - the villain Kaspar (one of his later parade roles) and the hermit. He had three minutes to change in the last act.
A few months after his Bautzner debut, the State Opera in his hometown signed him. It was there that Boehme's career began with Fafner in Wagner's Das Rheingold . From 1930 to 1950 he remained a member of the ensemble of the famous Dresden State Opera , where he excelled in Richard Strauss operas . In 1949 he was engaged by the Munich State Opera and in 1955 by the Vienna State Opera . At the Salzburg and Bayreuth festivals he became a crowd favorite. In the 1950s and 1960s he was in demand around the world, also because of his acting talent, both as a bass buffo ( Baron Ochs ) and as a villain (Kaspar 1954 with Wilhelm Furtwängler , Fafner in Rheingold 1958 and in Siegfried 1964 with Georg Solti ). Kurt Böhme has made regular guest appearances in London, Buenos Aires and at the New York Metropolitan Opera . Böhme also campaigned for contemporary music theater, in particular through his participation in numerous world premieres such as Werner Egks Irische Legende (1955), Rolf Liebermann's School of Women (1957) and Isang Yuns Sim Tjon (1972). Böhme was on stage well into his seventh decade. In his long life as a singer, he has sung around 120 roles - he embodied the ox more than 500 times and Kaspar around 350 times.
The singer, who had an exceptionally broad voice, left behind a voluminous discography, even if his competitor Gottlob Frick surpassed him while he was still alive. Among other things, he was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit (December 7, 1964).
Kurt Böhme died of heart failure at the end of 1989 . He was buried in the family grave in the cemetery in Munich-Haidhausen .
Discography (selection)
- The Flying Dutchman : Daland: Kurt Böhme, Senta: Helene Werth , Erik: Bernd Aldenhoff , Mary: Res Fischer , helmsman: Helmut Krebs , Dutchman: Hans Hotter - Choir and Symphony Orchestra of the North German Radio - Wilhelm Schüchter - Hamburg 1951
- The Abduction from the Seraglio : Erika Köth (Konstanze), Lisa Otto (Blonde), Rudolf Schock (Belmonte), Murray Dickie (Pedrillo), Kurt Böhme (Osmin), Hannsgeorg Laubenthal (Bassa Selim), choir of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna Philharmonic , George Szell
- Smetana : The Bartered Bride , Barry McDaniel , Cvetka Ahlin, Melitta Muszely , Martti Talvela , Ruth Hesse , Rudolf Schock , Kurt Böhme; Choir and orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin , conductor: Heinrich Hollreiser
- Peter Cornelius : The Barber of Baghdad , with Rudolf Schock, Anny Schlemm , Kurt Böhme, conductor: Joseph Keilberth , Cologne 1951
- Der Rosenkavalier : Maria Reining , Kurt Bohme, Sena Jurinac , Alfred Poell , Hilde Guden, Judith Heilwing, Laszio Szemere, Hilde Rossel-Majdan, Harald Proglhof, William Wernigk ; Conductor: Hans Knappertsbusch , Vienna State Opera Choir, Vienna Philharmonic , Vienna 1955
Web links
- Kurt Böhme in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)
- Kurt Böhme in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sound carrier by Kurt Böhme in the catalog of the German National Library
- Kurt Böhme in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
- Kurt Böhme at Operissimo on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
- Kurt Böhme at bayreuther-festspiele.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ knerger.de: Kurt Böhme's grave
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Böhme, Kurt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German opera singer (bass) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 5, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dresden |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 20, 1989 |
| Place of death | Munich |