Willy Fränzl

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Willy Fränzl (born June 5, 1898 in Vienna ; † June 24, 1982 there ) was an Austrian solo dancer.

Willy Fränzl was born into a family of dancers. His father Friedrich Fränzl (1863–1938) was a solo dancer at the kk Hofoper until 1915 . After his retirement he founded his own ballet and dance school in Margareten ( Zeuggasse 3) and made a name for himself as a dance arranger for large Viennese balls; he was also a board member of the Association of Austrian Dance Masters .

His son Wilhelm ("Willy") began his dance training at the court opera in 1904. His career took off: in 1921 he was a solo dancer, from 1935 ballet master, until 1943 on the board. He also worked at the Salzburg Festival in 1938 and choreographed Tannhäuser under the direction of Hans Knappertsbusch .

Grave of Willy Fränzl

Many later stars were apprenticed with him, including Michael Birkmeyer and Susanne Kirnbauer-Bundy .

In his private life he also found his great love in ballet. In 1946 he married his student and later solo dancer Lucie Bräuer (1922–2011). In 1950 their daughter was born.

After 58 years with the Vienna State Opera, ballet master Fränzl retired at the end of the 1962 season.

For years Fränzl directed the opening of the Vienna Opera Ball and many other ball events.

After his death in 1982, his wife Lucie continued to run the dance school ( Wien-Landstrasse , Am Heumarkt 6), most recently in 1995 as the choreographer of the Opera Ball at the State Opera. In 2011 she found her final resting place in an honorary grave (group 46E, row 4, number 12) of her husband in Vienna's central cemetery .

The dance schools that have existed since 1925 and 1927 in Vienna-Wieden , Mozartgasse 6 and Mödling , Hauptstraße 42a, under the name Fränzl go back to Willy Fränzl's older brother Rudolf ("Rudi", 1894–1974), from 1911 to 1945 dancer / Solo dancer at the kk Hofoper / State Opera.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Messages from the audience. (...) Solo dancer Friedrich Fränzl dies. In:  Neue Freie Presse , Morgenblatt, No. 26389 S / 1938, February 27, 1938, p. 8, center left. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nfp.
  2. ↑ Court and staff news. (...) Award from the solo dancer Fränzl. In:  foreigners sheet of the imperial and royal capital Vienna / foreigner sheet and tag news of the imperial and royal capital Vienna / foreigner sheet / foreigner sheet with vedette / foreigner sheet with military supplement Die Vedette , evening edition , No. 287/1915, October 16, 1915, p. 2, bottom left. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / fdb.
  3. ↑ 20. Dance schools and teachers . In: Vienna address book. Lehmanns Wohnungs-Anzeiger for Vienna , year 1925 (LXVI. Year), volume 2, part IV, p. 200, center left.
  4. ↑ Ballet master Willy Fränzl (...) . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna July 1, 1962, p. 4 , column 1 middle ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  5. ↑ Dance Institutes. (Dance schools and teachers) . In: Vienna address book. Lehmanns Wohnungsanzeiger , year 1926 (LXVII. Year), volume 2, part III, p. 616, column 4.
  6. ^ Richard Fränzl: 1. The history of the dance school ( Memento from May 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). In: Tanzschule Fränzl Opernballchoreograph , February 2, 2014, accessed on May 30, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Fränzl, Willy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fränzl, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian solo dancer
DATE OF BIRTH June 5, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1982
Place of death Vienna