Description

KARL ERB (RAVENSBURG, GERMANY, 13 JULY, 1877 – RAVENSBURG, GERMANY, 13 JULY, 1958)

Karl Erb rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most admired tenors of his time. Born into poverty, he began singing in a church choir as a boy while working as an office assistant and later as a municipal employee in Ravensburg. His remarkable voice was discovered by Baron von Putlitz, director of the Stuttgart Court Opera, who arranged his debut in 1907 as Matthias in Kienzl’s Der Evangelimann. Remarkably, Erb achieved this without formal training.

From 1908 to 1910, Erb sang at the Lübeck City Theater and then returned to the Stuttgart Court Opera until 1912. That year, he joined the Munich Court Opera, where he achieved great success, including singing Parsifal in the Munich premiere of Wagner’s Parsifal (1914). His signature role was the title character in Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina, which he premiered on June 12, 1917, at the Prinzregenten Theater in Munich. This role became a defining moment in his career, and he performed it in Zurich, Basel, and Bern later that year with the original cast.

Erb also participated in the premieres of several operas in Munich, including Korngold’s Der Ring des Polykrates (1916) and Walter Braunfels’s Die Vögel (1920) and Don Gil von den grünen Hosen (1924). He remained with the Munich Opera until 1925 but continued performing there as a guest until 1930.

His career highlights include appearances at the Salzburg Festival in 1925 as Ernesto in Don Pasquale alongside Maria Ivogün, to whom he was married from 1921 to 1931. He performed at prestigious venues such as the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He was particularly celebrated as a Mozart interpreter and for roles such as Parsifal, Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Fritz in Schreker’s Der ferne Klang. He was also noted for his performance as the title character in Hugo Wolf’s Der Corregidor.

A serious accident in 1930 curtailed his operatic career, leading him to focus on concerts and lieder singing. He became a legendary interpreter of the Evangelist in J.S. Bach’s Passions, performing annually under Willem Mengelberg in Amsterdam from 1918 to 1943. He was equally esteemed as a lieder singer, with recordings under the Columbia label in 1936–37 that remain benchmarks of the genre.

Even in his later years, Erb’s voice retained its beauty, and he continued to appear in concert halls into his seventies. He made notable radio appearances after 1945, including a 1950 recording of Carl Orff’s Der Mond. Thomas Mann immortalized him in Doctor Faustus, referencing Erb’s spiritual artistry.

Erb’s singing was distinguished by extraordinary clarity of diction, a unique timbre, and profound emotional depth, qualities that earned him enduring admiration. His life and career are documented in M. Müller-Goegler’s biography, Karl Erb: Das Leben eines Sängers (1949).

TRACKLIST

1. Alessandro Stradella (Flotow) Jungfrau Maria X99694 xB5272 Odeon, Berlin 1911-09
2. Barbier von Bagdad (Cornelius) O holdes Bild (w. Ivogün) XX76999 xxB6363 Odeon, Berlin 1917
3. Contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach) Nur Mut und festes Vertrauen X99695 xB5273 Odeon, Berlin 1911-09
4. Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Laß es, o laß es mich hören (w. Ivogün) XX76998 xxB6367 Odeon, Berlin 1917
5. Euryanthe (Weber) Wehen mir Lüfte Ruh’ XX76192 xxB5352 Odeon, Berlin 1911-10
6. Fidelio (Beethoven) In des Lebens Frühlingstagen XX76341, xxB5735 Odeon, Berlin 1912-07
7. Iphigenie auf tauris (Gluck) Nur einen Wunsch A52596  xB5460 Odeon, Berlin 1911-11
8. Königin von Saba (Goldmark) Da plätschert eine Silberquelle XX76486 xxB6073 Odeon, Berlin 1914
9. Königin von Saba (Goldmark) Magische Töne  XX76485 xxB6072 Odeon, Berlin 1914
10. Lohengrin (Wagner) Gralserzählung XX76256 xxB5274 Odeon, Berlin 1911-09
11. Lohengrin (Wagner) Höchstes Vertrauen XX76475 xxB6064 Odeon, Berlin 1914
12. Lohengrin (Wagner) Mein lieber Schwan XX76476 xxB6065 Odeon, Berlin 1914
13. Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Am stillen Herd X98016 xB5744 Odeon, Berlin 1912-07
14. Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Morgenlich leuchtend X98000 xB5745 Odeon, Berlin 1912-07
15. Mignon (Thomas) Ach, daß die Seele dein X98001 xB5746 Odeon, Berlin 1912-07
16. Mignon (Thomas) Froh und frei will ich eilen X98002 xB5747 Odeon, Berlin 1912-07
17. Rigoletto (Verdi) Freundlich blick’ ich X98054 xB6068 Odeon, Berlin 1914
18. K Rigoletto (Verdi) O wie so trügerisch X98055 xB6069 Odeon, Berlin 1914
19. Tannhäuser (Wagner) Da sah ich ihn XX76478 xxB6067 Odeon, Berlin 1914
20. Tannhäuser (Wagner) Inbrunst im Herzen XX76477 xxB6066 Odeon, Berlin 1914