Raoul Walter

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Raoul Walter

Raoul Walter ( August 16, 1863 in Vienna - August 21, 1917 in Munich ) was an Austro-German opera singer specializing in lyric tenor , who worked for more than 25 years at the Royal Court and National Theater in Munich. He was also a lieder singer.

Career

Raoul Walter was the son of the chamber singer Gustav Walter (1834–1910) and his wife Laura, b. Hague. At the age of 13 he won first prize for piano playing at the Horak'schen Klavierschule in Vienna. He spent his high school at the boarding school in Leitmeritz before he began studying law at the University of Vienna, which he completed in 1886 with a doctorate.

In addition to his work in the Vienna Financial Procuratorate, he was a member of the Vienna Men's Singing Association and from 1883 to 1887 as a member of the Singing Association of the Society of Music Friends. In 1888 he retired from civil service and decided to make singing his profession. In the same year he made his debut at the Theater an der Wien in the role of Nanki-Puh in the operetta Der Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan . The then 24-year-old tenor sang the role of Alfred in the 200th performance of Die Fledermaus on May 15, 1888 under the baton of Johann Strauss . In 1890 he received an engagement at the Brno City Theater as an operetta singer and opera buffo, before he was hired by Hermann Levi in 1891 at the Royal Court and National Theater in Munich.

Court and National Theater Munich

From 1891 to 1917 Raoul Walter was the first lyric tenor at the Royal Court and National Theater in Munich. On August 18, 1891, he made his debut with great success as Adam in The Postillon of Lonjumeau . He was closely connected to the operas of Mozart , in which he could be heard in over 380 performances: as Belmonte, Don Ottavio, Ferrando, Basilio, Tamino. He also excelled in Wagner roles, especially as Walther von der Vogelweide in Tannhäuser . His most famous role was that of Mathias Freudhofer in Kienzl's opera Der Evangelimann , which he created at the Munich premiere in 1896, was the only singer for twenty years and whose performance impressed the composer.

His repertoire also included roles in the operas of Richard Strauss , including Der Rosenkavalier , Elektra , Ariadne auf Naxos , Feuersnot . Noteworthy is his interpretation of the title role of Duke Ulrich in the world premiere of Siegfried Wagner's Duke Wildfang and his participation in the world premiere of the opera Die Vier Grobiane by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari . At the Munich premieres he sang the title roles of Lobetanz ( Ludwig Thuille ) and Der Corregidor ( Hugo Wolf ). He has also appeared as a guest singer at other opera houses, including St. Petersburg, Moscow, Libau, Mitau, Riga, Bremen, Frankfurt / M., Zurich, Karlsruhe and Vienna. He gave recitals with his accompanist, Liszt student Bernhard Stavenhagen , at the Odeon in Munich. Raoul Walter was on friendly terms with Richard Strauss , who dedicated the Lieder op. 36 to him. Erich Meyer-Helmund, Heinrich Kaspar Schmid and the Munich conductor and composer Hugo Reichenberger (1873–1938) also dedicated songs to him. In April 1917 he was on stage for the last time in the role of Tulbek in Feuersnot by Richard Strauss. He died after a short serious illness at the age of 54 on August 21, 1917. He found his final resting place at the Munich forest cemetery .

Acting as a director

In addition to his work as a singer at the Munich Royal Court Theaters ( National Theater , Residenztheater , Prinzregententheater ), where he was heard in 111 opera roles on more than 1850 evenings, he was director of 25 operas from 1904 to 1914. Outstanding productions were Così fan tutte and Die Fledermaus .

Family, private

Walter was married to the Viennese pharmacist's daughter Emilie Seipel, with whom he had four children. His youngest daughter Maria ("Mimi") married the Viennese tenor Julius Patzak (1898–1974). He found his circle of friends in the Munich artists' associations Die Hölle and Die Pappenheimer , where painters, writers and singers met. His sister, court opera singer Minna Walter (1859–1901), was a soprano at the opera houses in Frankfurt am Main and Vienna.

Audio documents

Eight G&T records (Munich 1905 - 1907) with arias sung by Raoul Walter are among the oldest recordings of all. These include arias from Martha , Troubadour , Mignon , Così fan tutte , Magic Flute , The Barber of Baghdad and The Jewess .

Premieres

All at the Royal Court and National Theater Munich:

World premieres

Walter took part in 10 world premieres at the Royal Court and National Theater , including:

Honors

  • Royal Bavarian chamber singer
  • Duke of Saxony Ernestine House Order
  • Royal Ludwig Medal for Science, Art and Industry
  • Knight of the Franz Joseph Order
  • Knight's Cross of the Military and Civil Merit Order of Adolph von Nassau from the Grand Ducal * Luxembourg Court Marshal's Office
  • Prince Regent Luitpold Medal with the crown in silver

literature

  • Gabriele Gaiser-Reich: Gustav Walter. 1834-1910 . Viennese court opera singer and lieder prince. Hans Schneider, Tutzing 2011, ISBN 978-3-86296-024-8 .
  • Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singer lexicon . , Volume 5, KG Saur, Bern / Munich 1999
  • Alfred v. Mensi-Klarbach: Altmünchner Theatererinnerungen , Knorr-Hirth GMBH, Munich 1924.
  • Ludwig Eisenberg : Large biographical lexicon of the German stage in the 19th century , Paul List, Leipzig 1903.
  • Max Zenger : History of the Munich Opera , Publishing House for Practical Art Studies Dr. FX Weizinger & Co, Munich 1923.
  • Alexander L. Suder (Ed.): Composers in Bavaria. Heinrich Kaspar Schmid ; Hans Schneider, Tutzing 2004.
  • Willi Schuh : Richard Strauss. Letters to parents. 1882–1906 , Atlantis Verlag 1954.
  • Roswitha Schlötterer-Traimer: Richard Strauss and the Musical Academy in Munich , HypoVereinsbank Kultur & Gesellschaft, Munich 1999.
  • Ulrike Hessler , Jürgen Schläder , Robert Braunmüller, Wilfried Hösl: Power of Emotions - 350 Years of Munich Opera , Henschel, Berlin 2003.
  • Wilhelm Kienzl : My migration through life. Experienced and seen. Stuttgart, Engelhorn's descendants 1926
  • Maria Nunnenmacher-Röllfeld: The Schubert singer Gustav Walter , 1928.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Walter, Raoul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-German opera singer specializing in lyric tenor
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1917
Place of death Munich