Wilhelm Strienz

Wilhelm Strienz (born September 2, 1900 in Stuttgart , † May 10, 1987 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German opera singer (bass).

Life

After studying singing with Theodor Scheidl and Luise Reuss-Belce , the trained clerk Strienz made his debut in 1922 at the Deutsches Opernhaus Berlin as a hermit in Weber's Der Freischütz . In the following years he made a name for himself at the opera houses of Wiesbaden, Kaiserslautern and Stuttgart. His roles included the Mephisto from Gounod's Margarete and Van Bett in Lortzing's Zar und Zimmermann , but also numerous Wagner roles.

Between 1926 and 1933 Strienz worked for the newly founded Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne. After the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists in 1933, the broadcasting director Ernst Hardt was dismissed, Strienz joined the SA and was committed to the Berlin State Opera . In 1935 he sang in an Electrola record recording German sein, means to be faithful and fly, German flag fly! Subsequently, Strienz developed into a popular performer of folk music on the radio. In 1936 he sang in the propaganda film Ewiger Wald, which was ordered by the National Socialist Cultural Community . In addition, he continued to perform opera and also made guest appearances at the London Royal Opera House Covent Garden . In 1937/38 he sang Sarastro in the legendary recording of Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham .

Also known are his interpretations of by Carl Loewe set to music ballads The Nix of August Kopisch and the clock by Johann Gabriel Seidl .

Because of his great popularity, the Nazi regime asked him to participate in the radio program " Request concert for the Wehrmacht " after the beginning of World War II . In it he became known, among other things, with Gute Nacht, mother of Werner Bochmann . From 1940 he also appeared as a soloist in various war songs such as Soldat in Poland , which were recorded on records. He also appeared in the propaganda films Wunschkonzert (1940) and Fronttheater (1942). In the final phase of the Second World War, Adolf Hitler included him in the God-gifted list of the nine most important concert singers in August 1944 , which freed him from military service, including on the home front .

In the immediate post-war period, the German broadcasters boycotted him, especially in the Soviet Occupation Zone , as his name was associated with Nazi propaganda during the war years. Strienz, however, continued his singing activities: He made successful tours and received a contract with the Decca record company . In 1963 Strienz ended his singing career and retired into private life.

Web links

Sound carrier by Wilhelm Strienz in the catalog of the German National Library
German broadcast archive

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fred K. Prieberg : Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, p. 7.058.
↑ Da Below Im Tale - German Liedgut CD 6 of the 10 CD set, Membrane Music Ltd., ISBN 978-3-86735-395-3
^ ^A ^b Ernst Klee : The cultural lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 600.

personal data
SURNAME	Strienz, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German opera singer (bass)
DATE OF BIRTH	2nd September 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH	Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH	May 10, 1987
Place of death	Frankfurt am Main

[Prieberg-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fred K. Prieberg : Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, p. 7.058.

[2] Da Below Im Tale - German Liedgut CD 6 of the 10 CD set, Membrane Music Ltd., ISBN 978-3-86735-395-3

[Klee-3] A ^b Ernst Klee : The cultural lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 600.