Description

WALTER GÜNTHER-BRAUN (27 DECEMBER, 1874 – WEIMAR, 28 OCTOBER, 1947)

 

 

 

 

He studied singing with the renowned teachers Törsleff in Leipzig, Eugen Wolff in Frankfurt am Main, Alfieri in Berlin, and Felix von Kraus in Munich. He began his stage career during the 1896–1897 season at the Stadttheater in Cottbus and subsequently appeared, mainly as an operetta tenor, at the theatres of Wiener Neustadt (1897–1898), Salzburg (1898–1899), Innsbruck (1899–1900), and the Carl Schultze Theatre in Hamburg (1900–1901).

He later turned to opera and was engaged at the Stadttheater in Mainz (1901–1903), the Stadttheater in Graz (1903–1906), the Breslau Opera (1906–1909), and the Munich Court Opera (1909–1912). From 1912 to 1920 he was a member of the Court Theatre in Mannheim, followed by an engagement at the Dortmund Opera (1920–1927). Beginning in 1905 he also made several guest appearances at the Dresden Court Opera.

In 1918 he took part in the Mannheim world premiere of Paul von Klenau’s opera Kjartan und Gudrun, creating the role of Haldor.

His stage career was focused particularly on heroic tenor and Wagnerian roles, including Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tristan, Loge and Siegfried in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Florestan in Fidelio, Hüon in Weber’s Oberon, the title role in Pfitzner’s Palestrina, Fra Diavolo in Auber’s opera of the same name, Eleazar in Halévy’s La Juive, Samson in Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila, Don José in Carmen, and Canio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.

He was also a highly respected concert and oratorio singer. He spent his final years at the Marie Seebach Foundation retirement home in Weimar.

 

 

 

HANS BREUER (COLOGNE, 27 APRIL, 1868 – PERCHTOLDSDORF, 11 OCTOBER 1929)

 

 

 

 

His real name was Johann Peter Joseph Breuer. He was the son of the Cologne Cathedral sculptor Peter Breuer. On the recommendation of the distinguished conductor Franz Wüllner, he studied singing with Benno Stolzenberg in Cologne. He further perfected his vocal training at the Bayreuth School under Julius Kniese and Cosima Wagner.

He made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 1894, appearing in supporting roles in Wagner’s Lohengrin and Parsifal. In 1896 he achieved great success there as Mime in Der Ring des Nibelungen, a role that became one of his specialties. He appeared at the Bayreuth Festival every year until 1914 and, in 1899, also sang David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

During the 1896–1897 season he was engaged at the Breslau Opera. In 1897 he undertook a guest performance tour of North America, and during the 1899–1900 season he became a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, making his debut as the Steersman in Der fliegende Holländer. His Metropolitan repertoire also included Jaquino in Fidelio, Spärlich in Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Mime in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Melot in Tristan und Isolde, and Walther von der Vogelweide in Tannhäuser.

He made guest appearances at Covent Garden in London in 1898 (as Jaquino) and 1900 (as David), at the Zurich Municipal Theatre in 1909 (as Mime), at the Berlin Court Opera in 1901 (as Mime), and at the Munich Court Opera in 1906 (also as Mime).

From 1900 to 1929 he was a distinguished member of the Vienna Court Opera. At the Salzburg Mozart Festival he appeared as Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte (1910 and 1928) and as Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro (1922 and 1925).

His son was the well-known actor Siegfried Breuer (1906–1954), whose godfather was Siegfried Wagner.

 

 

 

PAUL STAMPA (BERLIN, 4 OCTOBER 1867 – BERLIN, 1925)

 

 

 

His early career is poorly documented, but he is known to have begun his stage career at the Stadttheater in Stettin during the 1895–1896 season. In 1901 he and his first wife, the singer and actress Dora Dorsay, joined Ernst von Wolzogen’s pioneering Überbrettl cabaret company in Berlin, appearing in performances throughout Germany.

During the 1902–1903 season they sang operetta at the Carl-Schultze-Theater in Hamburg, followed by engagements at the Deutsches Theater in Bremen. In the 1904–1905 season Stampa appeared as an opera singer in Brünn (Brno), and from 1906 to 1908 he performed operetta at the Schauspielhaus in Breslau. Between 1908 and 1910 he was engaged at the Stadttheater in Würzburg, where he established himself as a Wagner tenor.

After separating from Dora Dorsay around 1910–1911, he sang operetta in Amsterdam and Rotterdam (1911–1912), followed by engagements at the Wilhelm-Theater in Magdeburg (1912–1914), the Stadttheater in Bremen (1915), and the theatres of Halle an der Saale (1916–1920), where he appeared in both opera and operetta. During the 1921–1922 season he served as manager and stage director of the Halle Operetta Theatre and the Reichshallentheater in Erfurt.

After retiring from the stage, he worked in the business sector in Düsseldorf. In 1924 he returned to his native Berlin, where he died the following year.

 

 

 

REINHOLD BATZ (DÜSSELDORF, 14 MARCH, 1870 OR 1873 – COLOGNE, 19 SEPTEMBER, 1935)

 

 

 

 

He received his musical training in his native city of Düsseldorf and made his stage debut in 1900 at the Court Theatre in Kassel as Max in Weber’s Der Freischütz. He remained in Kassel until 1904, where in 1901 he took part in the world premiere of Cristiano Buongiorno’s opera Mädchenherz (Il cuore delle fanciulle).

From 1904 to 1911 he was a member of the Cologne Opera. Thereafter he appeared primarily as a guest artist at the Court Theatres of Hanover and Wiesbaden, the Stadttheater in Hamburg, and the Leipzig Opera, while increasingly devoting himself to a successful career as a concert and oratorio singer, which continued into the 1920s.

His principal operatic roles included Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Lohengrin, Assad in Goldmark’s Die Königin von Saba, Pedro in d’Albert’s Tiefland, Masaniello in Auber’s La muette de Portici, the title role in Auber’s Fra Diavolo, Faust in Gounod’s Faust, Don José in Carmen, Hoffmann in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Chapelou in Adam’s Le postillon de Lonjumeau, Manrico in Verdi’s Il trovatore, Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana, Canio in Pagliacci, and Cavaradossi in Tosca.

He was married to the concert singer Martha Kalender (born 1876).

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Walter Günther-Braun Carmen (Bizet) Blumenarie 4-42066 12447u Gramophone, Breslau 1908

Walter Günther-Braun Der Evangelimann (Kienzl) Selig sind, die Verfolgung leiden 4-42067 12448u Gramophone, Breslau 1908

Walter Günther-Braun Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Am stillen Herd 4-42064 Gramophone, Breslau 1908

Walter Günther-Braun Meistersinger von Nürnberg) Morgenlich leuchtend 4-42065 Gramophone, Breslau 1908

Hans Breuer Rheingold (Wagner) Wer hälfe mir (Mimes Erzählung) (w. Briesemeister) 2-42922 1130e G&T, Bayreuth 1904-10

Hans Breuer Rheingold (Wagner) Wer hälfe mir (Mimes Erzählung) (w. Briesemeister) 22196 G1025a Zonophone, Wien 1904

Hans Breuer Siegfried (Wagner) Als zullendes Kind (Szene des Mime) 22197 G1026a Zonophone, Wien 1904

Hans Breuer Siegfried (Wagner) Das ist nun der Liebe… Als zullendes Kind 2-42923 1131e Bay G&T, Bayreuth 1904-10

Hans Breuer Zauberflöte (Mozart) Alles fühlt der Liebe Freuden (Arie des Monostatos) 22198 G1027a Zonophone, Wien 1904

Paul Stampa Frühlingslied (Gounod) Berliner 42193 434 b Berlin 1901

Reinhold Batz Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni) O Lola X-22479 Zonophone, Köln 1906-08/09