Rudolf Dittrich (singer)

Rudolf Dittrich (born February 12, 1903 in Prositz , now part of Stauchitz , † 1990 in Dresden - Bühlau ) was a German chamber singer .

Life

Rudolf Dittrich, who was born into a farming family in the Riesa area and grew up with hard labor in Coschütz near Dresden , is said to have shown his musical talent at an early age. In 1916, already at the age of 13, he entered the Dresden-Plauen teachers' college at his father's behest . In 1923 he successfully passed his examination and found a job in the school service. The training facility, praised for its musical character, as well as visits to the Dresden Semperoper , especially the performances of Smetana's Bartered Bride with Richard Tauber , increased his desire to sing, which is why he perfected his voice with the help of the Czech baritone Hans Pokorny .

On New Year's Eve 1928 he sang to the hero tenor of the Dresden State Opera, Kurt Taucher (also: Curt Taucher). Visibly impressed, he arranged an audition with General Music Director Fritz Busch . He had prepared the cavatine from Faust for this . Busch, who was already in tails because he was supposed to conduct the traditional “Palm Sunday Ninth” (in which Dittrich would later be responsible for the tenor part himself), quickly stopped him because the first notes already convinced him, he let himself go confirm his impression only by intoning the high C.

In the middle of the 1928/29 season, namely in March 1929, the career changer intervened in the opera, despite the fact that the salary did not start until April 1st. The pedagogue working in the closed classroom thus became a heroic tenor on the wide stage of the Dresden State Opera via the intermediate station of the lyrical tenor, with an ensemble of world reputation , consisting of Marta Fuchs , Friedrich Plaschke , Ivar Andresen , Kurt Böhme , Paul Schöffler , Max Lorenz , Erna Berger and now also Rudolf Dittrich. He began with small games like the First Prisoner in Fidelio (1929) and advanced through Max im Freischütz (1930) and Don José in Carmen to the big games of the youthful hero subject. Later he was entrusted with the great parts of the Wagner operas, for example Parsifal for the first time at Easter in 1932 . Contemporary operas were just as important to him as the everlasting classics. He sang in Maschinist Hopkins , in Münchhausen and in 1940 in Heinrich Sutermeister's Romeo and Juliet at the side of Maria Cebotari and under the direction of Karl Böhm . Despite everything, his favorite piece remained the tenor solo in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony . He often performed outside Dresden under famous conductors such as Furtwängler , Knappertsbusch , Clemens Krauss and Willem Mengelberg . He already received a special ennoblement in the early years of 1929 by Richard Strauss , who had chosen him for his performances of his own works Salome and Die ägyptische Helena . Dittrich gave guest appearances in Berlin , Hamburg , Vienna , Munich , Barcelona and Geneva , to name just the most famous opera cities.

In the 1940s, overdosing on a drug caused damage to the vocal cords, as a result of which he slowly had to say goodbye to the opera stage. In 1948 he only sang Narraboth in the Salome performance in the makeshift Kulturscheune Bühlau and Tamino in the first Mozart production in the newly created Kleiner Haus . Until then, his repertoire had totaled 76 games. General director Martin Hellberg deployed the prevented opera star in 1949 as a lecturer, vocal trainer and opera consultant. He owes his specialization in promoting young talent from 1954 to General Music Director Franz Konwitschny and Opera Director Alfred Eichhorn. In the mid-1950s he also became the director of studies .

His loyalty to his hometown was also expressed in the fact that instead of following appointments to Vienna or Munich, he preferred to co-found the Sachsenwerk Dresden-Niedersedlitz workers' opera and act as a consultant. In old age, the 1967 honorary member of the Dresden State Opera never missed a premiere, and whenever he had something to complain about or suggest something beyond mere interest, he always found grateful open ears.

Theo Adam (his student from 1946 to 1949), with whom he subsequently became friends, were grateful for their good education , Gerhard Stolze , Gisela Schröter , Marianne Fischer-Kupfer , Hajo Müller , Wilfried Krug , Nelly Ailakowa and many others. The city of Dresden also proved to be grateful again shortly after his death when a street in the Nickern district was named after him .

Dittrich found his final resting place in the Bühlau cemetery .

Remarks

1. ↑ This term does not include the Palm Sunday cantata Himmelskönig, Beethoven's Welcome to Bach , but Beethoven's 9th Symphony . Since court conductor Richard Wagner helped the then controversial work on Palm Sunday 1846 to a resounding success, the repetition of the event has become a Dresden tradition. See klassik-heute.com and newsropa.de .
2. ↑ The course of the disease was probably progressive, as indicated by the many different times. (For exact sources, see individual references.) The Union wrote on April 2, 1954: In 1942 a tragic accident took the voice of its precious character. The Saxon Latest News on April 19, 1964: An accident at the end of the last war put an abrupt end to his career as a singer. The Sächsisches Tageblatt on February 11, 1983: After 1945 [...] (had to) early break off this glamorous career due to the accident of a drug overdose [...]. The morning on the same day: [...] belonged to the forces of the first hour for several years after 1945, until his glamorous career was destroyed by incorrect drug treatment. And Horst Seeger in the Opern-Lexikon ( Henschelverlag , Berlin 1978): [...] had to retire in 1950 as a result of a vocal cord burn [...].
3. ↑ The exact year is given differently by the same newspaper ( Die Union , see individual records): 1955 and 1957.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Gottfried Schmiedel: Dresdner Operngeschichte (14): Rudolf Dittrich - singer and singing teacher . In: Saxon Latest News , [end] December 1976.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r} Hans Böhm: "Young man, you are committed!" - Rudolf Dittrich on the "80th" . In: Sächsisches Tageblatt , February 11, 1983.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} H [ans] B [öhm]: A greeting to the “80.” The Dresden singer and theater practitioner Rudolf Dittrich . In: Der Morgen , February 11, 1983.
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chamber singer Rudolf Dittrich 25 years at the opera . In: Sächsisches Tageblatt , April 1, 1954.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Anonymous: Rudolf Dittrich's 25th stage anniversary . In: Die Union , April 2, 1954.
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} H [ans] B [öhm]: In loyalty to the State Opera. Chamber singer Rudolf Dittrich has been a member of the State Theaters for 30 years . In: Die Union , April 2, 1959.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} H [ans] B [ohm]: A life for the Dresden Opera. For the 60th birthday of Kammersänger Rudolf Dittrich . In: Die Union , February 13, 1963.
8. ↑ ^{a b c} -dl-: From Tamino to Narraboth. Chamber singer Dittrich for 35 years at the State Opera . In: Saxon Latest News , April 19, 1964.
9. ↑ On the death of Gerhard Stolze
10. ↑ Deaths / Days of Death: Gisela Schröter ( Memento of the original from May 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ Bayreuth Festival, people: Gisela Schröter
12. ^ Marianne Fischer-Kupfer at Operissimo  on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
13. ^ Hajo Müller at Operissimo  on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
14. ↑ In Memoriam: Wilfried Krug . ( Memento of the original from January 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
15. ↑ Bayreuth Festival, people: Wilfried Krug
16. ↑ Nelly Ailakowa at Operissimo  on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
17. ^ Streets and squares in Nickern