Bayreuther
Bühnen-Festspiele: Although singers in Bayreuth appeared in earlier composite
postcards (see Bayreuth -
Composite Postcards), the Bayreuth postcards on this page are the
earliest dedicated solely to singers at the Festivals. These cards were produced
around 1908-1909. The varieties can be generally distinguished by changes in the
design and publisher. Of course, there were earlier images of Bayreuth singers,
but those appeared primarily on cabinet cards.
(1) Dr. Otto
Briesemeister (Arnswalde: 18 May 1866 - Berlin: July 1910) as Loge. He
made his debut in 1893. He was invited by Cosima Wagner to sing Loge at the
Bayreuth Festival of 1898. He returned frequently to the Festivals singing
Loge, Siegfried, Lohengrin, and Siegmund. At one time he was under a
provisional contract with the Metropolitan Opera, but never sang there. His
last appearances were to have been at the Berlin Royal Opera but he was too
ill to participate.
(2) Alois Burgstaller:
German tenor (1871-1945. He trained at the Bayreuth School under Julius
Kniese and made his stage debut (1894) at the Bayreuth Festival in a small
role. He was particularly noted for his portrayal of Siegfried. Burgstaller
sang the first Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera (1903), which drew
considerable wrath from Cosima Wagner, who was trying to gain exclusive
protection for the work. As a result, Burgstaller, as well as Anton van Rooy
and conductor Alfred Hertz, were banned from any further performances at
Bayreuth. Seen here as Siegfried. Circa 1908.
(3) Austrian tenor Alois
Hadwiger (Olmütz, Austria: 11 Aug 1879 - Graz, Austria: 23 Mar 1948) as
Froh. He studied under Julius Kniese at the Bayreuth School. His debut
(1904) at the Bayreuth Festival was in this role. He appeared there in 1906
and 1908 as Parsifal. After he retired from singing he directed the
Mecklenburger Theater in Schwerin.
(4) German bass Rudolf
Moest (Karlsruhe: 22 Apr 1872 - Vienna: 28 Apr 1919) as König Heinrich.
He made his debut (1892) in Strassburg as Ruggiero in Halevy's
La Juive. From 1896-1914 he appeared in Hannover. He was seen at the
1909 Bayreuth Festival singing König Heinrich (Lohengrin) and Titurel
(Parsifal). After that he sang in Stuttgart, Munich, and Weimar.
(5) American (Norristown,
PA: 1876 - Queens, NY: 3 Jan 1953) Gertrude Rennyson as Elsa, 1909.
Rennyson graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
After studies in Paris (with Trabadelo) she toured with the Henry W. Savage
Opera Company. At the Tremont Theatre in Boston (19 Oct 1903) she was seen
as Tosca. Latter in 1903 she appeared as Marguerite (Faust) at the
West End Theatre (NY) with the English Grand Opera Company (a Savage
production). In 1909 she sang her Elsa at Covent Garden (London) under an
assumed name, Elsa Vania. She was called the greatest Elsa that London had
seen in a long time. Rennyson said, "My reason for assuming another name is
that it is well known that for an artist to sing in English opera hurts her
professionally on the Continent, and, as the Carl Rosa management wanted
ability rather than a name, I was glad to accept a four weeks' engagement on
my merits as an artist under an assumed name, never dreaming of being
discovered. I have been singing this year in Dresden and Bayreuth, and I
have a splendid offer from Dresden for a five years' contract, but naturally
I want to sing in my native country, and before closing I am hoping that
negotiations with Mr. Dippel of the Metropolitan Opera House will end in
taking me back to American next year." However, she gave only one Sunday
Concert (April 9, 1911) with the Met. In 1912 she was singing with the
Boston Opera Company. The outbreak of World War I caused her to cancel her
engagements with the Royal Opera of Dresden, and she returned to the United
States. Her last residence was 460 Beach 22nd Street, Far Rockaway, Queens.
(6) Alfons
Schutzendorf-Bellwidt (Vught: 25 May 1882 - Weimar: 1946): German
bass-baritone from a fine family of German singers. Studied in Cologne with
Walter. Debut Dusseldorf. Bayreuth 1908-1912. Seen here in 1908 from
Bayreuth as Telramund. Also sang at Covent Garden (1910) as Wotan and
Gunther.
(7)
Iowa-born bass-baritone
Clarence Whitehill
(1871-1932) as Amfortas. He made his debut (1898) in
Brussels in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. After several appearances at
the Opéra-Comique he traveled to the Cologne Opera (1903-08) and other
German houses. He sang in Bayreuth in 1904 with the blessings of Cosima
Wagner. He sang quite often at the Chicago Opera and at Covent Garden, but
he made the Metropolitan Opera his home singing for nineteen seasons
beginning with an appearance as Wolfram in Tannhäuser (15 Nov 1909).
Henry Krehbiel of the New York Tribune wrote that Whitehill had "no
superior in the field of Wagnerian music drama," calling his Hans Sachs a
"warm, human, and poetic creation."
Circa 1908.
(8) Rudolf Berger:
Czech tenor (1874-1915): Originally a baritone he changed to tenor after
studying with Oscar Saenger in New York. He made his American debut (4 Feb
1914) at the Metropolitan Opera. He was married to soprano Marie Rappold. Seen
here as Amfortas.
(9) Austrian soprano Anna
von Mildenburg (1872-1947) made her debut (1897) in Hamburg. In that same
year she made her first of many appearances at the Bayreuth Festivals. Her
first contract (1897) with the Vienna Court Opera stipulated that her salary
be 14,000 guilders per year. With that she was required to fulfill ten
performances per month with no leave of absence other than theater vacations
and a summer break. Although von Mildenburg was married to the poet and
playwright Hermann Bahr, she was romantically linked to the married conductor
Gustav Mahler with whom she often worked and who was largely responsible for
building her career. Seen here as Ortrud.
(10) Carl Braun (Fafner),
Lily Hafgren-Waag (Freia), Lorenz Corvinus (Fasolt).
Carl Braun. German
bass (Meisenheim, Germany: 2 Jun 1886 - Hamburg: 24 Apr 1960). A pupil of
the Berlin Imperial Opera. Sang with the Wiesbaden Royal Opera (1906-11),
Vienna Imperial Opera (1911-12), Berlin City Opera (1912-14). Sang for many
years at the Bayreuth Festivals (1906-31). Metropolitan Opera (1912-17),
Berlin State Opera (1920-27). Seen here as Fafner.
Swedish soprano Lily
Hafgren-Waag (1884-1965) made her Bayreuth debut in the role of Freia
(Das Rheingold), seen here. She was invited by Siegfried Wagner to the
1909 Festival, subsequently returning in 1911, 1912 and 1924. She was a
favorite Elsa, and her Eva was highly praised by the Bayreuth critics. Her
successes in Bayreuth led to contracts in Mannheim and Berlin.
German bass Lorenz Corvinus
(Frankfurt: 20 Jul 1870 - Vienna: 18 Jan 1952) as Fasolt. In 1894 he was
singing in the choir at the Weimar Hofttheater. After 1900 he was singing
opera in Berlin, Elberfeld, Strassburg, and Vienna. He sang at the Bayreuth
Festivals from 1906-09. Corvinus also sang in Amsterdam, London, Mannheim,
Cologne, and the Hofoper in Berlin.
(11) Hans Breuer and
Otto Briesemeister (Loge).
Hans Breuer
[orig Johann Peter Joseph]: German tenor (1868-1929) The role of Wagner's
Mime (seen here) was the mainstay of his career. Breuer attended the Cosima
Wagner training school. He made his debut (1894) in Bayreuth in a small role.
(12) Alois Burgstaller
as Siegfried.
(13) Alois Burgstaller
as Siegfried.
(14)
Charles Dalmorès
(1871-1939): French dramatic tenor. He first studied horn at the Paris
Conservatory which led to engagements by the Cologne and Lamoureaux Orchestras
for two years each. His tenor debut (6 Oct 1899) took place in Rouen. He was a
popular figure at the Monnaie, the Paris Opéra, Covent Garden, and the
Manhattan and Chicago Operas. Seen here as Lohengrin, which he sang at the
Bayreuth Festival of 1908.
(15) German soprano
Katharina Fleischer-Edel (1873-1928) made guest appearances at Bayreuth as
Elisabeth and Elsa in 1904, Brangane and Sieglinde in 1906, and Sieglinde and
Elsa in 1908. She repeated her Elisabeth, Elsa, and Brünnhilde at the
Metropolitan Opera in 1906. She possessed a fine lyric voice but was not
particularly noted for her acting. Seen here as Elsa von Brabant.
(16) Austrian tenor Alois
Hadwiger as Parsifal.
(17) Swedish soprano Lily
Hafgren-Waag (1884-1965).
(18)
American bass
Allen C. Hinckley
(1877-1954). He trained in New York under Oscar Saenger. He made his
debut (1903) at the Hamburg Opera. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera
(1908-14) and an accomplished guest at the Bayreuth Festivals (1906-08).
(19)
Allen C. Hinckley.
(20) The most famous Baron
Ochs was Austrian bass Richard Mayr (1877-1935). Strauss said that he
had Mayr in mind all along as he created the music associated with this
character. However, contractual obligations with the Vienna Court Opera
prevented Mayr from appearing in the Dresden world premiere. He did introduce
Ochs to Vienna, and later triumphed in this role in London, Salzburg and
Bayreuth. Mayr's impact at a 1924 Covent Garden performance was summed up by
Ernest Newman when he said, "His smile and whistle during Annina's reading of
the letter said more than a page of words could have ever done." Seen here as
Hagen.
