Erich Kunz
Erich Kunz(20 May 1909 inVienna– 8 September 1995 in Vienna)[1]was an Austrian operaticbaritone,particularly associated with the roles ofPapagenoandBeckmesser.
Life and career
[edit]Born in Vienna, Kunz was educated at theVienna Music Academywhere he was a student of Theo Lierhammer andHans Duhan.[1]He made his stage debut inOpava,asOsmin,in 1933.[2]He then sang inPlauen(1936–37) andBreslau(1937–41).[2]In 1936 he was a member of the opera chorus at theGlyndebourne Festival Opera,not returning there again until 1950 when he portrayed Guglielmo in Mozart'sCosì fan tutte.[1]
He made his debut at theVienna State Operain 1940, where he quickly established himself as a specialist ofMozartroles such asFigaro,Leporello,Guglielmo,Papageno,roles he also sang at theSalzburg FestivalandAix-en-Provence Festival.He was also renowned for his portrayal ofBeckmesser,which he sang at theBayreuth Festivalin 1943 and 1951.[2]In 1947 he performed the roles of Leporello, Guglielmo and Figaro atThe Royal Opera,London.[1]In 1948 he sang Guglielmo at theEdinburgh Festival.[1]
He made guest appearances at theParis Opéra,and sang at theMetropolitan Opera(Met) in New York (1952–54).[2]He made his Met debut on November 26, 1952 as Leporello toCesare Siepi's Don Giovanni withFritz Reinerconducting. His other Met roles included Beckmesser, Faninal inDer Rosenkavalier,and Mozart's Figaro.[3]
Considered an outstanding singer-actor with a superb sense of comedy, he also enjoyed great success inoperetta.Several recorded performances as Dr. Falke inDie Fledermausare available.[2]
He can be seen as Faninal inPaul Czinner's movie ofDer RosenkavalierwithElisabeth Schwarzkopf,conducted byHerbert von Karajan.[2][4]
Kunz's final opera performances were at the Vienna State Opera in the mid 1970s.[5]He lived in retirement in Vienna where he died on 8 September 1995.[5]
Bibliography
[edit]- Cornelia Szabó-Knotik,Herbert Prikopa:Erich Kunz. Ein Leben für die Oper.Löcker, Vienna 1994,ISBN3-85409-239-3.
References
[edit]- ^abcdePeter Branscombe(15 May 2009). "Kunz, Erich".Grove Music Online(8th ed.).Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.15675.ISBN978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^abcdefRoland Mancini; Jean-Jacques Rouveroux (1986).Le guide de l'opéra.Fayard.ISBN2-213-01563-5.
- ^Kunz, Erich [Baritone].Metropolitan Opera Archives.RetrievedJuly 18,2021.
- ^Der Rosenkavalier(1961)atIMDb
- ^ab"Erich Kunz, 86, Opera Singer".The New York Times.September 20, 1995. p. D20.
External links
[edit]Media related toGrave of Erich Kunzat Wikimedia Commons
- Erich KunzatIMDb
- AudioonYouTube,Franz Schubert:"An die Musik",Anton Paulik conducting theVienna State Opera Orchestra(1965)