Heinrich Conried
Heinrich Conried | |
|---|---|
Maurice Grau | |
| Succeeded by | Giulio Gatti-Casazza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 3, 1855 Bielitz, Austrian Silesia |
| Died | April 27, 1909 (aged 53) Merano, Italy |
| Signature |  |
Heinrich Conried (September 3, 1855 – April 27, 1909) was an Austrian and naturalized American theatrical manager and director. Beginning his career as an actor in Vienna, he took his first post as theater director at the
Germania Theatre (1878-1881), followed by posts at the Thalia Theatre (1881-1882), New York Concert Company (1882-1883), and the Irving Place Theatre (1883-1903)[1] In 1903 he became director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, a post he remained in until his retirement in 1908.[2]
Biography
He was born on September 3, 1855, in
Germania Theatre in New York. On invitation of Neuendorff Conried moved in 1878 to New York City, where he became chief stage manager of the Germania Theatre. In 1881 he moved to the Thalia Theatre as artistic manager and in 1882 he became artistic manager of the New York Concert Company.[3]
In 1883 he assumed the management of the
New Theatre. His tenure was also marked by the United States premiere of Richard Strauss' Salome which was presented in “public rehearsal” on January 20, 1907, and at a benefit performance on January 22. The opera shocked the moral sensibilities of audiences and was met with disapproval, including many audience members walking out during the shocking final scene and with complaints to the company's board. The opera was pulled for the company's season and the Met did not actually stage the opera until 1934.[2] Also in 1907, Conreid notably poached Gustav Mahler from his conducting post in Vienna, and brought him in to lead the conducting staff at the Met; a position he remained in until leaving to become the director of the New York Philharmonic in 1909.[4]
On May 1, 1908, Conreid retired from the Metropolitan Opera House due to his poor health. Immediately afterwards he voyaged to Europe. He died on April 27, 1909, in the Hotel Meranerhof in the city of Meran from an apoplectic stroke in the presence of his wife and sister.[3][5] His funeral was held at the Metropolitan Opera House.
References
- ^ . The Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1918.
- ^ a b c Joseph Horowitz (2012). Moral Fire: Musical Portraits from America's Fin de Siècle. University of California Press. pp. 78, 106.
- ^ New York Times. April 27, 1909. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
Heinrich Conried, former Director of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, who suffered an apoplectic stroke several days ago, died at 2:30 o'clock this morning.
- ^ Joseph Horowitz (2012). Moral Fire: Musical Portraits from America's Fin de Siècle. University of California Press. p. 115.
- New York Times. April 26, 1909. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
Further reading
- Baker, Theodore. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 4th edition, G. Schirmer, 1940.
- Moses, Montrose Jonas. The Life of Heinrich Conried, New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company Publishers, 1916.
- Sendrey, Alfred. Bibliography of Jewish Music, Columbia University Press, 1951.
- Wininger, S. Große Jüdische National-Biographie, Vol. I, 1925, p. 591.
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