- Heinrich Schlusnus
Heinrich Schlusnus (
August 6 ,1888 -June 18 ,1952 ) was Germany's foremost lyricbaritone of the period betweenWorld War One andWorld War Two .A native of
Braubach , Schlusnus studied with voice teachers in Berlin and Frankfurt before making his debut at the Hamburg opera in 1915. Schlusnus sang at Nuremberg from 1915 to 1917 and at the prestigiousBerlin State Opera from 1917 until 1951. He was engaged by theChicago Opera for its 1927-28 season and appeared at theBayreuth Festival in 1933.During his tenure at Berlin, Schlusnus established himself as his country's greatest performer of
Verdi 's baritone roles and, according to most critics, no subsequent German baritone has matched his supremacy in this field. Schlusnus excelled in German opera parts, too, and earned critical renown as a concert artist andlieder singer despite stiff competition from rival baritones such asHerbert Janssen ,Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender ,Gerhard Hüsch ,Karl Hammes ,Rudolf Bockelmann andKarl Schmitt-Walter .By all accounts, Schlusnus was not a magnetic actor like his fellow Verdians
Lawrence Tibbett orTito Gobbi ; but, by way of compensation, he was blessed with an exceedingly beautiful high baritone voice and an impeccable legato style of singing to go with it. Schlusnus's polished technique, coupled with the prudent management of his vocal resources, enabled him to enjoy an unusually long stage career. Schlusnus died inFrankfurt-am-Main not long after retiring from the stage.Recordings
He frequented German recording studios during the 1920s, '30s and '40s, committing to record an array of lieder and operatic arias and duets. Many of these recordings are available on CD, notably a complete "
Rigoletto " sung in German, oppositeErna Berger ,Helge Rosvaenge ,Margarete Klose andJosef Greindl .References
David Ewen, "Encyclopedia of the Opera".
External links
*Heinrich Schlusnus singing "Ja, du weisst es, teure Seele" by
Richard Strauss (film clip), 1944 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9STsJ9ngKyo]
*Heinrich Schlusnus singing part of "Wer in die Fremde will wandern" byHugo Wolf (film clip), 1944 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Eo2NogJ-k&feature=related]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
