Erik Schmedes

Erik Anton Julius Schmedes (August 27, 1868 in Gentofte, Denmark – March 23, 1931 in Vienna) was an operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in operas by Richard Wagner. He was the brother-in-law of Vaslav Nijinsky.

Schmedes was born into a family of musicians, the most prominent of which was his brother Hakon, a noted violinist and composer. After studying in Paris, Berlin and Vienna, he made his debut as a baritone in Wiesbaden 1891 as The King's Herald in "Lohengrin". He continued to sing as a baritone until 1897. However, after further study with August Iffert in Vienna, his heldentenor voice emerged. He made his debut as a tenor in 1898 singing the title role in "Siegfried" at the Vienna State Opera. His career remained largely based at that opera house, where he was a Kammersänger and one of the most prominent tenors during the years of Gustav Mahler's direction of the company.

Schmedes sang frequently at Bayreuth from 1899 through 1906. He also appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera in the 1908/1909 season, singing Siegfried in "Die Walküre" and "Götterdämmerung", the title roles in both "Parsifal" and "Tristan und Isolde", and Pedro in Eugen d'Albert's "Tiefland" for the opera's North American premiere. Although he primarily sang roles from the Wagnerian repertoire, Schmedes was also an admired interpreter of Florestan in Beethoven's "Fidelio" and the title role of Pfitzner's "Palestrina".. [Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J., 1979] During his career, he sang 1130 performances of 42 roles and recorded for several companies, including Gramophone and Pathé. [Hefling, S., 2003]

Schmedes' principal rival for the Wagnerian tenor roles during his time in Vienna was Leo Slezak. Schmedes' young daughter, Dagmar, who later became a soprano herself, is said to have told Slezak: "Uncle Leo, you are just a tenor, my father is an artist!" Slezak is said to have replied: "If your daddy had a high C, he too would choose to be just a tenor!" [Cervenka, G., 2006 (translated from the original German)] Considered by some to be a better actor than singer, [Hefling, S., 2003; Steane, J., 1974; Thompson, H., 1902] Schmedes appeared in two films, the most notable of which was Paul Czinner’s 1919 silent film "Inferno".

Schmedes' last performance was in 1924 in the title role of Wilhelm Kienzl's "Der Evangelimann". When he retired from the stage he became a voice teacher in Vienna. Amongst his pupils were Maria Müller and Anny Konetzni.

Notes and references

*Cervenka, G., 2006, 'Ein legendärer Helden-Tenor', [http://oe1.orf.at/highlights/54710.html Österreichischer Rundfunk] . Accessed 30 April 2007.
*Hefling, S., 2003, [http://www.marstonrecords.com/mahler/mahler_liner.htm Liner Notes] for "Mahler’s Decade in Vienna: Singers of the Court Opera 1897-1907", Marston Records 53004-2. Accessed 30 April 2007.
*imdb name|0772596|Erik Schmedes. Accessed 30 April 2007.
* [http://66.187.153.86/archives/frame.htm Metropolitan Opera Archives] (accessed 30 April 2007)
*Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J.,1979, "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera", 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press. p. 446.
* [http://www.gravsted.dk/person.php?navn=hakonschmedes Schmedes family grave] in the Gentofte Kirke cemetery. Accessed 30 April 2007.
*Steane, J. B., 1974, "The Grand Tradition: Seventy Years of Singing on Record", London: Duckworth.
*Thompson, H., 'Wagner at Bayreuth and at Munich', " [http://calbears.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3870/is_200210/ai_n9091270 The Musical Times] ", September 1902. Accessed 30 April 2007.