Waldemar Kmentt

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Waldemar Kmentt (born February 2, 1929 in Vienna ; † January 21, 2015 there ) was an Austrian opera singer ( tenor ).

Life

Waldemar Kmentt's grave

Waldemar Kmentt came from a respected family. His mother was the painter Grete Kmentt-Montandon . As a teenager he saw the fire at the Vienna State Opera as a passerby . He graduated from school in 1947 with his school colleagues Eberhard Waechter and Fritz Uhl . Originally he wanted to become a pianist, from 1949 he studied singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, with Elisabeth Radó , Adolf Vogel and Hans Duhan , among others . At the age of 21 he was invited to sing the tenor part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony under the musical direction of Karl Böhm . From 1951 he was a member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera, of which he remained for over 35 years. He made his debut on June 26, 1951 as Prince in The Love of Three Oranges by Sergei Sergejewitsch Prokofjew. In total, he embodied 79 roles in 1480 performances at the Haus am Ring , with some performances being institutionally part of the State Opera, but taking place in the Theater an der Wien or in the Volksoper , as the opera building was destroyed in a bombing in March 1945 and it will be reopened in the year 1955 moved to these buildings. Kmentt last appeared in the State Opera on November 25, 2005 as steward in Ariadne on Naxos .

As a young lyric tenor he was a member of the Vienna Mozart Ensemble . The repertoire of his long career includes more than 80 opera and operetta roles, from the lyrical, youthful heroic to the character subject. He has sung in all the major opera houses in Europe as well as in Japan and America. He was a guest at the Salzburg Festival for many years. He has also appeared at the Bayreuth , Edinburgh and Aix-en-Provence festivals . As a concert singer he performed under Herbert von Karajan , Otto Klemperer , Carlos Kleiber , Karl Richter , Karl Böhm , Eugen Jochum , Sergiu Celibidache and Leonard Bernstein .

From 1978 to 1995, Kmentt headed the opera studio at the Vienna Conservatory , from which many well-known singers emerged today, such as B. Wolfgang Bankl , Malin Hartelius or Mehrzad Montazeri .

At the age of 72 he made his Met debut playing the role of steward in Ariadne auf Naxos . After that he played a few years in smaller opera character roles at the Volksoper Vienna .

Kmentt died in January 2015 at the age of 85 in his native Vienna and was buried in the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 33G, number 83).

Awards

Recordings

literature

  • Gregor Hauser: Magical Sounds. Austrian tenors of the post-war period . Verlag Der Apfel, 2020, ISBN 978-3-85450-019-3 . Pp. 126-146.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gregor Hauser: Magical Tones. Austrian tenors of the post-war period . Verlag Der Apfel 2020, ISBN 978-3-85450-019-3 . P. 127f.
  2. ^ Gregor Hauser: Magical Tones. Austrian tenors of the post-war period . Verlag Der Apfel 2020, ISBN 978-3-85450-019-3 . P. 129.
  3. ↑ Waldemar Kmentt is 80 . orf.at, February 5, 2009; accessed on January 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ a b Chamber singer Waldemar Kmentt died . derstandard.at, January 21, 2015, APA notification; accessed on January 21, 2015.
  5. ↑ a b Chamber singer Waldemar Kmentt died . orf.at, January 21, 2015; accessed on January 21, 2015.
  6. ↑ On the death of Waldemar Kmentt: A Viennese "house tenor" of world renown. In: Kurier , January 21, 2015; accessed on January 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ List of the bearers of the Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria (PDF) Retrieved on January 21, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Kmentt, Waldemar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian opera singer (tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH February 2, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 2015
Place of death Vienna