Description

HEINRICH BÖTEL (HAMBURG, 6 MARCH, 1854 – HAMBURG, 5 JANUARY, 1938)

 

 

 

 

His vocal talent was discovered by Bernhard Pollini, director of the Hamburg Opera. He studied singing in Hamburg with Zumpe and Franz Krückl. In 1883 he made his stage debut at the Stadttheater in Hamburg as Manrico in Verdi’s Il trovatore.

During his career he made guest appearances at the Vienna Court Opera (1884, 1887), the Frankfurt Opera (1884–1893), the Kroll Opera in Berlin (1884–1892), the Leipzig Opera (1886), the Court Theatre in Schwerin (1887), the Stadttheaters of Bremen (1887) and Basel (1892), the Theater des Westens in Berlin (1898), the Dutch Opera in Rotterdam (1890), as well as in Cologne, Stuttgart, Breslau, and at the Thalia Theatre in New York (1887).

His extensive repertoire included Arnoldo in Guillaume Tell (Wilhelm Tell), Enzo in La Gioconda, Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana, Canio in Pagliacci, Masaniello in La Muette de Portici, Raoul in Les Huguenots, and Lyonel in Martha.

His career was remarkably long, and as late as 1911 he was still appearing at the Theatre in Altona as Lyonel in Martha. His son, Bernhard Bötel (1883–1953), also enjoyed a successful career as a tenor.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1883 Hamburg Stadttheater

1884-1893 Frankfurt a. M.Openhaus

1884-1892 Berlin Kroll Opera

1886 Leipzig Opernhaus

1887 Schwerin Hoftheater

1887 Bremen Stadttheatern

1887 New York Thalia Theater

1890 Rotterdam Deutschen Opernhaus

1892 Bremen Stadttheatern

1898 Berlin Theater des Westens

 

KARL KURZ-STOLZENBERG

 

 

 

 

He began his stage career during the 1898–1899 season at the theatre in Barmen-Elberfeld. After spending several years as a freelance artist, he was engaged at the Municipal Theatre from 1902 to 1904, followed by appointments in Riga (1904–1906) and at the Vienna Court Opera (1906–1908).

After leaving Vienna, he continued his vocal studies in Berlin with the singing teacher Alfieri. During the 1909–1910 season he was a member of the theatre in Halle an der Saale. Thereafter he worked primarily as a freelance tenor, making frequent guest appearances in Mannheim, Brunswick, Karlsruhe, Nuremberg, and Dessau.

Following his retirement from the stage, he worked as a stage director and later became a professor of singing at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin.

He specialized in the dramatic tenor repertoire, including Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Loge, Siegmund, Siegfried, Walther von Stolzing, Erik, Florestan, Radamès in Aida, Canio in Pagliacci, Raoul in Les Huguenots, Jean de Leyden in Le Prophète, and Eleazar in La Juive.

 

 

 

KARL LANG (WAIBLINGEN, 1860 – STUTTGART, 1925)

 

 

 

 

His father was a construction inspector, while he himself initially worked as a bank clerk. He later studied singing with Dr. Gunz in Frankfurt am Main and made his stage debut in 1891 at the Court Theatre in Karlsruhe as Max in Weber’s Der Freischütz. He remained in Karlsruhe until 1893, sang at the Municipal Theatre in Breslau during the 1893–1894 season, and in 1894 joined the Court Theatre in Schwerin, where he remained a member until 1914.

On 26 February 1899 he appeared in Schwerin in the world premiere of Max von Schillings’s opera Der Pfeifertag, creating the role of Velten. In 1905 he also took part there in the premiere of Oskar von Chelius’s opera Die vernarrte Prinzess. He made a guest appearance at the Berlin Court Opera in 1903, sang at the Municipal Theatre in Hamburg in 1903 and 1907, and appeared at the Court Theatre in Coburg in 1911.

His repertoire included Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, Siegmund in Die Walküre, Hüon in Weber’s Oberon, Canio in Pagliacci, Bran in Max von Schillings’s Ingwelde, and Pedro in Eugen d’Albert’s Tiefland.

Later, he became a professor at the Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1891-1893 Karlsruhe Court Theatre Debut Freischütz (Max)

1893- 1894 Wroclaw Municipal Theatre

1894-1914 Schwerin Court Theatre

1903 Berlin Court Opera

1903 Hamburg Municipal Theatre

1907 Hamburg Municipal Theatre

1911 Coburg Court Theatre

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Heinrich Bötel Der Troubadour (Verdi) Lodern zum Himmel she’ ich die 4-42150 12524u Grammophon, Berlin, 1908

Heinrich Bötel Gute Nacht du mein herziges Kind (Abt) 4-42152 13545u Gramophone, Berlin 1908-09

Heinrich Bötel Martha (Flotow) Ach, so fromm 4-42050 12522½u Gramophone, Berlin 1908-03

Heinrich Bötel Postillon de Longjumeau (Adam) Freunde, vernehmet die Geschichte 4-42049 12523u Gramophone, Berlin 1908-03

Heinrich Bötel Rigoletto (Verdi) Ach, wie so trügerisch 4-42151 13547½u Gramophone, Berlin 1908-09

Heinrich Niggemeier Hugenotten (Meyerbeer) Ihr Wangenpaar 140136 Polyphon

Heinrich Niggemeier Zauberflöte (Mozart) Dies bildnis ist bezaubernd schön 140135 Polyphon

Karl Kurz-Stolzenberg Africaine (Meyerbeer) Land so wunderbar 7281 Beka, Vienna, MarchApril 1904

Karl Lang Das Nachtlager von Granada (C. Kreutzer) Terzett with Margarethe Burchardt and Hermann Gura X-24144 Zonophone, Schwerin 1903

Karl Lang Die vernarrte Prinzess (Chelius) Narrenlied 3-42193 37h G&T, Schwerin 1905