Description

GRETE HOLM (REAL NAME MARGARETE HIRSCH) (PRAGUE, 21 MARCH, 1884 – POLAND, 28 NOVEMBER, 1947)

 

 

 

 

She was the daughter of the banker Fritz Hirsch and his wife, Karoline Hirsch (née Israel). She received her initial training in Brno and later studied with the renowned Rosa Papier-Paumgartner in Vienna. In 1905 she made her debut at the Deutsches Theater in Brno as Marie in Die Regimentstochter, remaining there until 1907. In Brno she met the young conductor Robert Stolz (1880–1975), who continued her training and later became her husband. Stolz took her to Vienna, where he soon rose to fame as an operetta composer.

Having first appeared in operatic roles, Grete Holm-Stolz increasingly devoted herself to operetta, in which she became one of the great divas of the Austrian capital. She achieved triumphs at several Viennese operetta theaters: the Raimund Theater (1908–09), Theater an der Wien (1909–11), Johann Strauss Theater (1912–13), and the Vienna Bürgertheater (1916–20), among others. During these years and throughout the 1920s she also appeared as a guest in major theaters, including Prague and Cologne.

She took part in a number of important operetta premieres, among them: Der tapfere Soldat (The Brave Soldier) by Oscar Straus (Theater an der Wien, 1908), Ein Herbstmanöver (Autumn Maneuvers) by Emmerich Kálmán (Theater an der Wien, 1909), Die schöne Risette (The Beautiful Risette) by Leo Fall (Theater an der Wien, 1910), Zigeunerliebe by Franz Lehár (Carltheater, Vienna, 1910) in the role of Zorika—one of her greatest successes—Der Zigeunerprimas (The Gypsy Primate) by Kálmán (Johann Strauss Theater, 1912), and Der fidele Geiger by Edmund Eysler (Bürgertheater, 1919).

Her operatic repertoire included Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Ännchen in Der Freischütz, and Philine in Mignon by Ambroise Thomas. In operetta she sang roles such as Christel in Carl Zeller’s Der Vogelhändler, Adele in Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, the title role in Georg Jarno’s Waldmeisterin Christel, and a leading role in Leo Fall’s Die Dollarprinzessin.

Her marriage to Robert Stolz was later dissolved, but she continued her career with great success into the early 1930s. She also left numerous recordings for G&T, HMV (including collaborations with Robert Stolz at the piano), Zonophone, Polyphon (songs by Robert Stolz, accompanied by him), Odeon, and Pathé (Vienna, 1907–10, including opera duets with Maria Jeritza and Rudolf Hofbauer).

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach) Lied der Antonie X-23305 Zonophone, Wien 1907

Der tapfere Soldat (Oscar Straus) Komm Held meiner Träume Arena, 3702 1909

Der Zigeunerprimas (Kálmán) Vive le roi! (w. Walde, Giradi & Victora) 2-944010 14716L Gramophone, Wien 1912-11-26

Die schöne Risette (Fall) Küssen Quartett (w. Kartousch, Willenz & Lussmann) (orch Fall) 244089 11867L Gramophone, Wien 1910-12-13

Die schöne Risette (Leo Fall) Heu-Duett (w. Bötel) 54070 Scala, 1910/1911

Fledermaus (Strauss) Trinke, Liebchen, trinke schnell (w. Rohr) 51124 Pathé, Wien 1908/1909

Herbstmanöver (Emerich Kalman) Mondschein-Lied 8542 Arena, 1909

Mignon (Thomas) Schwalbenduett (w. Melms) 38666 Pathé, Wien 1907/1908

Nozze di Figaro (Mozart) Ihr, die ihr Triebe X-23304 11862u Zonophone, Wien 1907

Vogelhändler (Zeller) Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol (w. Rohr) 51106 Pathé, Wien 1908/1909

Zigeunerbaron (J. Strauss) Saffi (w. Bötel) 1024 A.B.C. Grand

Zigeunerliebe (Lehár) Lied der Zorika 95020 Odeon

Zirkuskind Märchenduett (w. Bötel) 1024 A.B.C. Grand