Herbert Janssen
Herbert Janssen (22 September 1892 in Cologne – 3 June 1965 in New York)[1] was a leading German operatic baritone of the 20th century who had a career in Europe and the United States.[2]
Biography
The son of a wealthy
Janssen reportedly disliked the Nazi regime that took power in Germany in 1933. In 1937 he fell foul of the regime, and was warned he should leave the country immediately.[8][9][10] Initially travelling with his wife Erna[11] to Britain, where he was found temporary accommodation by Walter Legge and Legge's sister, the Janssens then settled temporarily in Vienna where Janssen sang with the State Opera in the 1937 and 1938 seasons. Despite successes - "the audience idolises me and the newspapers are full of the highest praise" - Janssen recognised he had no long-term future in Austria, and began reaching out to connections in the United States. Narrowly escaping Austria in March 1938 ahead of the Anschluss, he temporarily settled in France, from where he visited South America to give some performances in Buenos Aires, before eventually emigrating to the United States.[12]
Once in the United States, Janssen became a member of the
From 1940 onwards Janssen also sang regularly at Buenos Aires and with the San Francisco Opera between 1945 and 1951.[17] His final guest appearances in Europe as Amonasro, Jochanaan, Kurwenal and Orest were made at the Vienna Staatsoper in June 1950.[18] He began teaching a small number of singing pupils in New York City from 1939 onwards, including (from 1941) an acquaintance from his time at Bayreuth, Friedelind Wagner (granddaughter of Richard Wagner), who like Janssen had fled the Nazi regime.[19] Janssen and his wife Erna had acquired US citizenship in 1946/1947,[20][21] and following his retirement from the Metropolitan Opera they remained in New York City, where Janssen continued to work as a singing teacher.[22]
Repertory
Originally, Janssen sang an extensive repertory. He appeared in
At the Metropolitan Opera, Janssen was cast overwhelmingly in Wagnerian roles. He was known for his interpretations of Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, Amfortas (in Parsifal) and Wolfram in Tannhäuser. Of his singing, his colleague Astrid Varnay would say, "whenever he was allowed to sing one of the truly lyrical baritone roles in the Wagner repertoire, there was nobody better. His meltingly lovely song to the evening star in the third act of Tannhauser could steal the show almost completely from any tenor but [Lauritz] Melchior."[23]
Janssen made commercial gramophone records of some of his roles. There is a recording derived from the 1930
References
- ^ Macy, Laura Williams (Ed.), The Grove Book of Opera Singers (2008), p. 236 [1]
- ^ Macy, Laura Williams (Ed.), The Grove Book of Opera Singers (2008), p. 236 [2]
- ^ "Herbert Janssen". www.preiserrecords.at. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "Herbert Janssen- Bio, Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533765-5.
- ^ "Herbert Janssen". www.preiserrecords.at. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "Herbert Janssen- Bio, Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ISBN 978-0-415-92108-4.
- ISBN 978-1-55553-455-4.
- ^ According to one account, he had deeply offended Adolf Hitler by turning down an invitation to join Hitler for dinner at Bayreuth. [3]
- ^ Janssen had been married to Erna Carstens since 1932
- ISBN 978-0-415-92108-4.
- ^ "Herbert Janssen- Bio, Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533765-5.
- ^ "Herbert Janssen". www.preiserrecords.at. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "Herbert Janssen". www.preiserrecords.at. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "Herbert Janssen- Bio, Albums, Pictures – Naxos Classical Music".
- ^ "Herbert Janssen". www.preiserrecords.at. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ISBN 978-0-571-26096-6.
- ISBN 978-3-11-097027-2.
- ^ Opera News, Volume 11 (1947), Page 3: "Herbert Janssen and his wife Erna have become American citizens this month."
- ^ "Herbert Janssen". www.preiserrecords.at. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ISBN 978-1-55553-455-4.
- ISBN 978-3-11-097027-2.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533765-5.
Prieberg[citation needed] published the analysis of his private archives under the title Handbook 1933-1945 German musicians in the electronic self-publishing as a resource on a CD-ROM as a pdf file.
- Kesting, Jürgen: Die großen Sänger des 20. Jahrhunderts, 1993, ECON Verlag GmbH, Düsseldorf, ISBN 3-517-07987-1
- Rosenthal, Harold and Warrack, John: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, second edition, Oxford University Press, London, 1980.