Description

HEINRICH SCHLUSNUS (BRAUBACH, GERMAN EMPIRE, 6 AUGUST, 1888 – FRANKFURT, WEST GERMANY, 18 JUNE, 1952)

 

 

 

 

His father was a postman but also led a male quartet. He initially worked as a postal employee in Frankfurt am Main, while also receiving his first singing lessons and giving a concert in Frankfurt as early as 1912. When World War I broke out in 1914, he was drafted and suffered a leg injury that August at the front in Belgium. This experience led him to pursue a career as an opera singer, and he made his debut at the Hamburg Opera in 1915 as the Herald in Lohengrin. From 1915 to 1917, he sang at the Stadttheater in Nuremberg. In 1917, he was invited to join the Berlin Court Opera (his first role there being Wolfram in Tannhäuser), where he remained until 1945 as a member of what later became the Berlin State Opera.

During the Verdi Renaissance of the 1920s, he performed in the Berlin premiere of I Vespri Siciliani in 1932 and took on various other Verdi roles, including Rigoletto, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, Germont in La Traviata, Don Carlos in La forza del destino, and Posa in Don Carlo. Following additional training with Louis Bachner in Berlin, he gave his first recital in 1918 at the Blüthner Hall in Berlin. He soon gained a reputation as one of Germany’s most prominent song interpreters, thrilling audiences worldwide with over 2,000 song recitals.

His international concert and recital tours took him across Holland, Belgium, England, France (in Paris in 1931 and 1937), Austria, Bulgaria (in Sofia in 1925), Italy, North America, and Canada. Despite his extensive recital career, he continued to perform on stage in Berlin and on guest appearances. In 1919, 1932, and 1934, he made guest appearances in Amsterdam; in 1922, in Barcelona; in 1923, at the Vienna State Opera; in 1925, at the Budapest Opera; in 1937, at the Paris Grand Opéra; in 1932, in Stockholm; and in 1922, 1938, and 1948, in Zurich. He also performed on many major German stages. During the 1927-1928 season, he was engaged by the Chicago Opera, and in 1933, he sang Amfortas in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival.

After World War II, he continued to perform, including at the Frankfurt Opera, where he sang his last role, Rigoletto, in 1948. In 1951, he made a final appearance as Germont at the Koblenz City Theater. That same year, he gave his last recital after completing another major tour of South America in 1949.

Literature: E. von Naso & Annemarie Schlusnus: Heinrich Schlusnus, Man and Singer (Hamburg, 1957).

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Bohème (Puccini) O Geliebte, nie kehrst du in meinen Arm (w. Hutt) B25000 460as Grammophon, Berlin 1921-0607
2. Carmen (Bizet) Euren Toast (79) 65578 1515s Grammophon, Berlin 1920-07
3. Das Geheimnis (Strauss) (pf Strauss) (78) 62366 14125r Grammophon, Berlin 1920-07
4. Die Nacht (Strauss) (pf Strauss) (78) 62366 14121r Grammophon, Berlin 1920-07
5. Don Giovanni (Mozart) Reich’ mir die Hand, mein Leben (w. Lehmann) 044327 155ap Grammophon, Berlin 1920 (late)
6. Forza del destino (Verdi) In dieser heiligen Stunde (w. Hutt) B25006 462½as Grammophon, Berlin 1921-0607
7. Heimkehr (Strauss) (pf Strauss) (75.5) 62364 14102r Grammophon, Berlin 1920-0607
8. Ich liebe dich (Strauss) 62364 1410414105r Grammophon, Berlin 1920-0607
9. Mignon (Thomas) Ihr Schwalben in den Lüften (w. Lehmann) (79.5) 044326 154ap Grammophon, Berlin 1920 (late)
10. Nozze di Figaro (Mozart) So lang’ hab’ ich geschmächtet (w. Lehmann) 044328 152ap Grammophon, Berlin 1920 (late)
11. Otello (Verdi) Ich glaube an einen Gott (78) 042600 477as Grammophon, Berlin 1921-07
12. Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) Dort in des Tempels Grund (w. Hutt) (78) B25003, 461as Grammophon, Berlin 1921-0607
13. Ruhe, meine Seele (Strauss) (75.5) 62365 14106r Grammophon, Berlin 1920-0607
14. Tannhäuser (Wagner) Blick’ ich umher (79) 65574 1516s Grammophon, Berlin 1920-07
15. Traviata (Verdi) Hat dein heimatliches Land (78) 042601 478as Grammophon, Berlin 1921-07
16. Verschwiegene Liebe (Wolf) (78) 70660 14124r Grammophon, Berlin 1920-07
17. Walküre (Wagner) Loge, hör’! Lausche hieher! (79) 65574 1517s Grammophon, Berlin 1920-07
18. Zauberflöte (Mozart) Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen (w. Lehmann) 044330 153ap Grammophon, Berlin 1920 (late)
19. Zueignung (Strauss) (pf Strauss) (78) 62365 14120r Grammophon, Berlin 1920-07