Description

AUGUST SEIDER (LEVERKUSEN, 11 FEBRUARY, 1901 – GRÄFELFING, NEAR MÜNCHEN, 18 NOVEMBER, 1989)

 

 

 

 

He received his education at the Musikhochschule in Cologne and made his debut in 1926 at the Bühnen-Volksverein Köln in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto. From 1928 to 1930, he sang at the Stadttheater in Halle (Saale) before joining the Leipzig Opera, where he served as the principal heldentenor until 1945. His guest performances brought him international recognition; in 1933, he performed as Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and as the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He was heard at the Munich Opera Festival in 1937 and frequently appeared in Wagner roles at the Forest Opera Festival in Sopot.

He made multiple guest appearances, including at the Vienna State Opera (1935 and 1937–1940), the Salzburg Festival in 1938 (again as Walther von Stolzing), and the Berlin State Opera in 1937. In 1939, he appeared as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence. He also performed at the Stadttheater in Zurich in 1941 and was a frequent guest at the Staatsoper in Dresden from 1936 onward.

After World War II, he moved to Munich and joined the State Opera, where he was a member from 1947 to 1967. Notably, he sang Tristan at the Covent Garden Opera in London in 1947 and reprised the role at the Rome Opera in 1950 alongside Maria Callas. A 1952 tour in South Africa was also successful. In 1953, he returned to Covent Garden to perform in the English premiere of Richard Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danaë. Further guest appearances took him to Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon (1949, 1954), Teatro Massimo in Palermo (1954), Rio de Janeiro Opera (1957), and the Grand Opéra in Paris (1963). He retired and settled in Gräfelfing near Munich.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Aida (Verdi) O wäre ich erkoren… Holde Aida Leipziger Sinfonieorchester
2. Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky) Im Garten, heut´ Nacht (w. Müller-Bütow) Rundfunk Symphonie Orchester
3. Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (Nicolai) Horch die Lerche singt im Hain
4. Der Freischütz (Weber) Nein, länger trag ich nicht die Qualen Rundfunk Symphonie Orchester
5. Der Freischütz (Weber) Die Wolfsschlucht (Finale des 2. Akts) I. Teil (w. Hann) Grammophon 68353 A LM
6. Der Freischütz (Weber) Die Wolfsschlucht (Finale des 2. Akts) II. Teil (w. Hann) Grammophon 68353 B LM
7. Der Freischütz (Weber) Durch die Wälder Grammophon 10372 5883 12
8. Der Freischütz (Weber) Jetzt ist wohl ihr Fenster offen Grammophon 10372 5884 12
9. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Leipziger Sinfonieorchester Morgenlich leuchtend
10. Don Carlos (Verdi) Sie ist es! (w. Teschemacher) Leipziger Sinfonieorchester
11. Lohengrin (Wagner) In fernem Land, unnahbar euren Schritten Rundfunk Symphonie Orchester
12. Othello (Verdi) Nun in der nächt´gen Stille (w. Teschemacher) Leipziger Sinfonieorchester
13. Rienzi (Wagner) Allmächt´ger Vater, blick´ herab Leipziger Sinfonieorchester
14. Tannhäuser (Wagner) Ich hörte Harfenschlag Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper Bayrisches Staatsorchester
15. Tannhäuser (Wagner) Hör an!… Rome Narrative Inbrunst im Herzen Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper München
16. Tannhäuser (Wagner) Inbrunst im Herzen Rundfunk Symphonie Orchester
17. Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) Wohin nun Tristan scheidet Gewandhausorchester Leipzig