Ulrich Hielscher

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Ulrich Hielscher (born April 29, 1943 in Schwarzengrund , Silesia ) is a German opera singer who specializes in bass .

Life

Hielscher, who was born in western Upper Silesia during the Second World War , moved to Cottbus with his family in 1951 ; In 1954 the family fled to the Federal Republic of Germany and lived in Düsseldorf . Hielscher later wrote about his childhood and adolescence in his autobiographical memory book ... and if it had been different . Hielscher studied music and singing at the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Düsseldorf for six years ; He received further singing lessons from the renowned singing teacher Paul Lohmann in Wiesbaden . In 1965 he made his debut as an opera singer with the role of Rocco in Beethoven's opera Fidelio at the Jeunesses Musicales International at Weikersheim Castle . He had his first engagement from 1967 at the Essen Opera House . In the 1968/69 season he sang the role of Dr. Kolenaty in a new production of the opera The Makropulos Affair (premiere: May 1969). In 1974 he became a permanent member of the Cologne Opera , of which he was a member for over 35 years until the end of the 2008/09 season. Hielscher sang over 120 roles at the Cologne Opera. Since the 2009/10 season he has continued to work with a guest contract at the Cologne Opera. In 2007 he was appointed Kammersänger by the Cologne City Council.

He also had regular guest contracts at the Wuppertal Opera House , at the Frankfurt Opera , at the Kiel Theater (1992, as Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier ) and at the Freiburg Theater (including in the 1988/89 season as Baron Ochs).

In Cologne and with guest engagements, Hielscher took on the serious bass subject as well as numerous bass buffo roles. His main roles included Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (including in April 1989 in the last Mozart Ponnelle cycle under Sir John Pritchard ), Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte , Leporello in Don Giovanni (role and house debut: June 1982; later also in May 1989 in the last Mozart-Ponnelle cycle under Sir John Pritchard), Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro , Rocco, van Bett in Zar and Zimmermann (which he sang in Cologne for a long time and again and again, even in the 1991/92 season ), Baculus in Der Wildschütz , Plumkett in Martha , Kaspar in Der Freischütz , Kezal in The Bartered Bride , Colline in La Bohème (1979/80 season, where he "drew attention to himself with a dark bass voice"; later also in a revival Production in the 1990/91 season), Daland in The Flying Dutchman , Pogner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , Gurnemanz in Parsifal , Baron Ochs, Graf Waldner in Arabella (including in the 1982/83 season, in the revival with Kiri Te Kanawa as Star guest in the T itelpartie) and doctor in Wozzeck (u. a. also in the season 1987/88 in March 1988 in a musical re- production of the Wozzeck production by Achim Freyer ). In the 1983/84 season he again took over the role of Colline in the revival of La Bohème in the Drese production. In the season 1987/88 he was the "sovereign singing and cunning acting" Lieutenant Zuniga in a Carmen revival (April 1988).

Hielscher also interpreted numerous operetta roles such as the prison director Frank in Die Fledermaus (including in the 1992/93 season), Colonel Ollendorff in Der Bettelstudent , the pig farmer Zsúpan in The Gypsy Baron , the Baron Mirko Zeta in The Merry Widow and the landlord Halifax in Lady Hamilton .

As a member of the ensemble, Hielscher also sang many smaller roles. In the 1980/81 season he saved the premiere of the opera Martha (premiere: February 1981, director: Hans Neugebauer ) as a short-term substitute when he took over the role of Lord Tristan Mickleford for his sick colleague Carlos Feller . In the 1980/81 season he also took on the role of village judge in the new Jenůfa production (premiere: March 1981, director: Harry Kupfer ); He sang this role in the musical rehearsal of the work at the beginning of the 1989/90 season. In the 1983/84 season he was the caretaker of Orestes in a new production by Elektra (premiere: September 1983, director: August Everding ); he was also heard as Pistola in Falstaff in a new production (premiere: January 1984, director: Michael Hampe ). In the 1984/85 season he took on the role of the 5th Jew in a musical re- production of the Ponnelle production of the opera Salome , as well as Uncle Bonze in a new production by Madama Butterfly (premiere: March 1985, director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle). In the 1985/86 season he sang Lord Syndham in a new production by Zar und Zimmermann (premiere: December 1985, director: Willy Decker ); from January 1986 he also took over van Bett in this production, alternating with Alfred Kuhn . In the 1986/87 season he sang Biterolf in a new Tannhauser production, "with a powerful bass that [but] had to struggle with the heights" . In the 1986/87 season he was the pastor "with a gnarled bass" in Harry Kupfer's production of Janáček's opera The Cunning Little Vixen (premiered in May 1987, with subsequent performances in June 1987). In the 1987/88 season he sang Geronte in a new production of the opera Manon Lescaut (premiere: March 1988, director: Gilbert Deflo ), "but made too little of the role of the unpleasant old man, remained quite inconspicuous vocally and dramatically"; in a follow-up performance in April 1988, he was a "dramatically very pointed, vocally rather indifferent" role interpreter. In the season 1989/90 he was then a "spirited Geronte, which one could see the somewhat dull timbre".

In the 1988/89 season he was the "old forced laborer" in the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk ; Hielscher found “melancholy dark tones” in this role and drew attention to himself with “his particularly beautifully sung aria in the 3rd act”. In 1991 he took part in the world premiere of the opera Der Meister and Margarita von York Höller . In the 1992/93 season he was the sailing master Mr. Flint in a new production of the Britten opera Billy Budd (director: Willy Decker ). In the 1993/94 season he took on the role of the barber Jakowlewitsch in a production of the Shostakovich opera The Nose (director: Harry Kupfer ). He also took part in the 1993/94 season as Mayor Swallow in a new production of the Britten opera Peter Grimes (premiere: April 1994); he had already sung this role in the earlier rehearsal in the 1980/81 season (premiere: May 1981, director: Hans Neugebauer). In the 1994/95 season, the roles of Talpa / Betto in Il Wollenico (staged by Willy Decker) and animal tamer / athlete in a new production by Lulu (directed by Michael Hampe) followed.

From the end of the 1990s, Hielscher also increasingly took on character roles. Since 1998 he has been heard in the following roles in Cologne, among others: Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro (1998), Kuno in Der Freischütz (1998), sacristan in Tosca (1998, 2001-2002), Dansker in Billy Budd (2000– 2001) and Zuniga in Carmen (2000-2001). In the 2004/05 season he sang the roles of Pfarrer / Badger in the new production of the opera The Cunning Little Fox in Cologne . In the 2006/07 season the Dansker again followed in Billy Budd . In the 2007/08 season he again took over the role of Kuno in a new production of the opera Der Freischütz . In the 2007/08 season he also sang Rocco in Fidelio , Rat Crespel in Hoffmanns Erzählungen , the prison director Frank in Die Fledermaus ("sovereignly interpreted" in the 1992/93 season, alongside Dirk Bach as a frog) and the steward in Capriccio .

In the 2009/10 season he appeared in Cologne as Hermann Ortel in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , as Benoît and Alcindoro in La Bohème and again as a pastor / badger in The Cunning Little Vixen . He also took on the roles of Harry Trevor / Baptista in the musical Kiss me, Kate alongside Dagmar Manzel . In 2009 Hielscher was scheduled to play the role of the Old Hebrew in a new production of the opera Samson and Dalila by the controversial director Tilman Knabe at the Cologne Opera , but he gave the role back. Hielscher, who said he was supposed to play a rape scene with a colleague, was one of several soloists and choir members who refused to appear in this production for artistic reasons. In April 2010, Hielscher sang the two roles of notary and police commissioner in the opera Der Rosenkavalier alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in her farewell performance as marshal .

He has also made guest appearances at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein , at the Stuttgart State Opera , at the Vienna State Opera (1980, as one-armed man in Die Frau ohne Schatten ), at the Kiel Opera House (1981/82 season, as the “powerful bass” Father Barré in Die Teufel von Loudun ), at the Metz Opera House (1982, as a doctor in Wozzeck ), at the Hamburg State Opera (including in the seasons 1989/90 and 1990/91, as Biterolf in Tannhäuser ), at the Nuremberg Opera House (1990, as Baron Ochs), at the Zurich Opera House (April 1991, as Osmin), at the Schwerin State Theater (1994 in the title role of the opera Don Quichotte by Jules Massenet ; 1995 as Pogner), at the Bonn Opera (1999, as Micha in The Bartered Bride ), at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp and Gent (1984/85), at the Opéra National de Paris (2001/02 season, as a doctor in Wozzeck ) and in Edinburgh (2007, as steward in Capriccio ).

In addition to his opera appearances, Hielscher also appeared extensively as a concert singer, in particular he interpreted over 50 oratorios, masses and sacred cantatas. He also worked as a lieder singer and ballad singer; He also played ballads by Carl Loewe on radio and recordings.

In 1985 he appeared in Salzburg as an artist on the ARD television show One will win .

Publications

  • Ulrich Hielscher: ... and if it had been different: the fate of a Silesian family . IMAGO publishing house. December 2004. ISBN 978-3-00-015254-2
  • Ulrich Hielscher: Lived opera world. Presented in verse: A Buffo tells about his theater life . IMAGO publishing house. November 2005. ISBN 978-3-00-017513-8

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ... and if it had been different . Imago Verlag , Cologne
  2. ↑ André Marienfels: LA BOHEME . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue February 2, 1980. Page 103.
  3. ↑ CH (= Claus Holz): REPERTOIRE-NIVEAU . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue August 8, 1988. Page 634 and 636.
  4. ^ Carl H. Hiller: MARTHA . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue April 4, 1981. Page 281/282.
  5. ↑ M. Kosel: TANNHÄUSER . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Issue May 5, 1987. Page 18/19.
  6. ↑ M. Kosel: COLOGNE: THE SMART FOX . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Issue 7/8. July / August 1987. page 42.
  7. ↑ Claus Holz: BAROCKE STRENGE . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue May 5, 1988. Page 365.
  8. ↑ MM (= Martin Müller): REPERTOIRE . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Edition July 7, 1988. Page 537/538, to U. Hielscher there on page 538.
  9. ↑ KU Groth: MANON LESCAUT . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Issue 7/8. July / August 1990. Pages 38/39.
  10. ↑ M. Kosel: COLOGNE: LADY MACBETH VON MZENSK . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Issue April 4, 1989. Page 11.
  11. ↑ Claus Holz: VIOLENCE AND PASSION . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Edition February 1989, page 135/136.
  12. ↑ K.-F. Shoulder: COLOGNE: THE NOSE . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Edition March 3, 1994. Page 9/10.
  13. ↑ K.-F. Shoulder: COLOGNE: PETER GRIMES . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Edition June 6, 1994. Pages 24/25.
  14. ↑ Carl. H. Hiller: COLOGNE: PETER GRIMES . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue 7/8. July / August 1981. Pages 575/576.
  15. ↑ Stephan Mösch: The boy plays along. Willy Decker with Puccini's »Trittico« in Cologne . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Edition November 11, 1994. Pages 24/25.
  16. ^ K. Ruhnke : COLOGNE: LULU . Performance review. In: Opera glasses . Issue January 1, 1995. Page 20/21.
  17. ↑ The clever little fox  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . report-k.de ; Cologne's internet newspaper@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.report-k.de  
  18. ↑ Billy Budd . Kultura-Extra, the online magazine
  19. ↑ Cologne Opera - THE FREISCHÜTZ . Operapoint (review)
  20. ↑ Claus Holz: IN THE REPERTOIRE . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue April 4, 1993. page 43.
  21. ↑ Musical causes a sensation in Cologne Opera . In: Bonner Generalanzeiger ; January 2, 2010
  22. ↑ Kate is hard to hear . Online music magazine (review)
  23. ↑ "Boy is arrogant and cold-blooded" . Kölner Stadtanzeiger ; April 27, 2009 online (print edition of April 28, 2009)
  24. ↑ Baritone rapes soprano in time . In: BILD ; April 18, 2009
  25. ↑ How much violence can a production take? . In: Welt am Sonntag ; May 3, 2009
  26. ↑ It's just over . Online music magazine (review)
  27. ↑ IRIS BÜNSCH: THE DEVILS OF LOUDON . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Edition November 11, 1982. Page 926/927
personal data
SURNAME Hielscher, Ulrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (bass)
DATE OF BIRTH April 29, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwarzengrund , Silesia