Kurt Huebenthal

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Kurt Hübenthal (born November 30, 1918 in Halle (Saale) ; † March 13, 2007 in Zwickau ) was a German singer ( bass baritone ), director and music teacher. He was a professor of singing at the Liszt School of Music Weimar .

Life

Hübenthal was born in Halle an der Saale in 1918 as one of two sons. He and his brother were members (soprano) in the Stadtsingechor zu Halle and visited the elite Latina with financial support from the choir . After their parents separated, the brothers moved to the Francke Foundations orphanage . They dropped out of school without a degree. Kurt Hübenthal completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith at the Reichsbahn repair shop in Halle.

During the Second World War the brothers were drafted into the Wehrmacht (his brother died). During his deployment in the Africa campaign at the turn of the year 1941/42, both of his eardrums burst . In 1942 he was taken prisoner by the British and was taken to a prison camp in the Canadian Rockies on the RMS Queen Mary . A camp choir and orchestra was formed in captivity. He also took part in an opera performance of Lortzing's Zar und Zimmermann . He also met the Kammersänger Karl Marstatt and the Kapellmeister Hans Oncken , who trained him in voice training and solo singing as well as choral conducting and theory. After the war he was transferred to England, where he gave camp concerts and taught British officers.

In spring 1947 he was able to return to his hometown, where he studied with Kurt Wichmann . He was also trained by Fritz Polster in Leipzig. First appearances as a concert and oratorio singer followed. In early 1948 he was given a teaching position at the State University for Theater and Music in Halle . In 1950 he became lecturer for voice training and department head at the Institute for Music Education (later Institute for Musicology) of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg . Hübenthal also taught at times at the Evangelical Church Music School in Halle , at the Institute for Music Education at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and at the Liszt School of Music in Weimar . During his lectureship at the church music school he devoted himself intensively to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach , such as his role as Christ in the St. Matthew Passion . But also Handel oratorios such as the Alexanderfest , Judas Maccabaeus , Messiah , Salomon and Samson as well as modern choral works were part of his repertoire. Under Helmut Koch he made a guest appearance in 1959 with Handel's Belshazzar in England. He also appeared in many ways as a song interpreter. On the occasion of the Schubert honor in 1954, he interpreted his winter journey . He also cultivated the songs of Robert Schumann and the ballads of Carl Loewes as well as modern pieces by Hanns Eisler and Paul Dessau . In 1956 he was a soloist in the world premiere of Fritz Reuter's cantata Deutsche Libertät . A commemoration for Johannes R. Becher brought him to Moscow in 1958.

After a guest performance in 1955 as Farasmane in the Handel opera Radamisto , he was engaged as an Italian and character baritone at the Landestheater Halle on August 1, 1956 and was one of the most important ensemble leaders until 1966. He played the title role in several Handel operas ( Amadigi , Giulio Cesare , Orlando , Ottone , Siroe and Tamerlano ). In addition, he sang a. a. Le nozze di Figaro (Graf), Otello (Jago), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Hans Sachs), Don Carlos (Posa), Zar und Zimmermann (Zar), La forza del destino (Carlos), Enoch Arden (title role) and The Rake's Progress (Nick Shadow).

The success of his school opera production Die Horatier and the Kuriatier of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Schwaen at the Institute for Musicology made him take on more and more directing duties. During the Handel Festival in 1960 he was still assistant to Heinz Rückert at the German premiere of Imeneo . Later he was responsible as an independent director a. a. the productions of Handel's Amadigi , Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio , Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin and Strauss' Die Schweigsame Frau . He staged a total of 37 operas.

In 1970, Hübenthal was appointed professor of singing at the Weimar Academy of Music, where he was promoted to Vice-Rector . In 1977 he was chairman of the jury for singing at the International Robert Schumann Competition for Piano and Singing .

Hübenthal last lived with his daughter in Zwickau , Saxony , where he died in 2007.

Awards

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kai Gauselmann: Pilot Günther Hübenthal. Only one son came back . In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung , January 31, 2004.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Walther Siegmund-Schultze : Kurt Hübenthal . In: Ernst Krause (ed.): Opera singers. 48 portraits from the world of music theater . 3rd, modified edition, Henschel, Berlin 1965, pp. 72–75, here: p. 73.
  3. ↑ a b Walther Siegmund-Schultze : Kurt Hübenthal . In: Ernst Krause (ed.): Opera singers. 48 portraits from the world of music theater . 3rd, modified edition, Henschel, Berlin 1965, pp. 72–75, here: p. 72.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Kai Gauselmann: Brother of the pilot Hübenthal. Halle's forgotten opera star . In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung , February 14, 2004.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Walther Siegmund-Schultze : Kurt Hübenthal . In: Ernst Krause (ed.): Opera singers. 48 portraits from the world of music theater . 3rd, modified edition, Henschel, Berlin 1965, pp. 72–75, here: p. 74.
  6. ^ Heinz Wegener: Bibliography Fritz Reuter . In the S. (Red. Ed.): Commemorative publication Fritz Reuter (= scientific journal of the Humboldt University of Berlin. Social and linguistic series 15 (1966) 3). S. I-VIII, here: S. III.
  7. ↑ Walther Siegmund-Schultze : Kurt Hübenthal . In: Ernst Krause (ed.): Opera singers. 48 portraits from the world of music theater . 3rd, modified edition, Henschel, Berlin 1965, pp. 72–75, here: p. 75.
  8. ^ Minister Klaus Gysi appointed university lecturers as professors . In: Berliner Zeitung , October 30, 1970, vol. 26, edition 300, p. 2.
  9. ↑ Schumann Competition in June . In: Berliner Zeitung , March 4, 1977, vol. 33, issue 54, p. 6.
  10. ↑ Walter Müller (compiled): Remembrance days of important personalities and important events in Saxony-Anhalt in 2018 - a selection . In: Sachsen -Anhalt-Journal , issue 4-2017 ( online ).
  11. ^ Artist excellent . In: Neue Zeit , April 14, 1959, vol. 15, issue 86, p. 1.
  12. ↑ Christoph Rink: Chronology of the Handel price . In: Announcements of the Friends and Supporters of the Handel House in Halle eV 1/2012, pp. 20–25, here: p. 25.
personal data
SURNAME Huebenthal, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German singer (bass baritone), director and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Halle (Saale)
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 2007
Place of death Zwickau