Franz Gruber (tenor)
Encyclopedia
Franz Gruber was a German opera
tic tenor
who had an active career in his native country and in Austria during the first half of the 20th century.
. By that time, he had already began studies as a singer, partly with his father. In 1902 he made his debut in the Stadttheater Regensburg and already in 1903 he was offered a position at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
in Munich, where he achieved success primarily as an operetta
singer.
Gruber continued his singing studies, and in 1915 he was engaged at the National Theatre Munich, where he made his debut as Manrico in Verdi
's Il Trovatore
. On 28 March 1916 he sang in the double-bill world premiere performances of Erich Wolfgang Korngold
's Violanta
(in the role of Alfonso) and Der Ring des Polykrates
(in the role of Florian). Further roles in this theater included Hoffmann in Offenbach
's The Tales of Hoffmann, Don José in Bizet
's Carmen
and Pedro in Eugen d'Albert
's Tiefland
. In 1918 he sang in the world premiere performance of Paul Graener
's opera Theofano.
In 1921 Gruber moved to the Landestheater Dessau
, where he started singing Heldentenor roles like Lohengrin
, Siegmund
, Siegfried
, and also the Emperor in Richard Strauss
' Die Frau ohne Schatten
. From 1924 to 1926 he worked at the Staatsoper Hannover
, and he finished his professional career at the Stadttheater in Nuremberg
, where he was active from 1926 till 1932. During this period he also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera
and at several major German opera houses.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
who had an active career in his native country and in Austria during the first half of the 20th century.
Professional career
Born in Munich, Gruber initially trained as an actor before making his opera debut in his native city in 1900. From 1901 to 1902 he worked at the Thalia-Theater in SaarbrückenSaarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
. By that time, he had already began studies as a singer, partly with his father. In 1902 he made his debut in the Stadttheater Regensburg and already in 1903 he was offered a position at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz is an opera house and opera company in Munich. Designed by the architect Michael Reiffenstuel, it opened on 5 November 1865 as the city's second opera house after the National Theatre....
in Munich, where he achieved success primarily as an operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
singer.
Gruber continued his singing studies, and in 1915 he was engaged at the National Theatre Munich, where he made his debut as Manrico in Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Il Trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
. On 28 March 1916 he sang in the double-bill world premiere performances of Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
's Violanta
Violanta
Violanta is a one-act opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto is by the Austrian playwright Hans Müller-Einigen. It is Korngold's second opera, written when he was only seventeen years old.-Performance history:...
(in the role of Alfonso) and Der Ring des Polykrates
Der Ring des Polykrates (opera)
Der Ring des Polykrates , Op. 7 is a one-act opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto, written by Leo Feld and reworked by the composer's father Julius Korngold, is based on a drama by Heinrich Teweles....
(in the role of Florian). Further roles in this theater included Hoffmann in Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's The Tales of Hoffmann, Don José in Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
and Pedro in Eugen d'Albert
Eugen d'Albert
Eugen Francis Charles d'Albert was a Scottish-born German pianist and composer.Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to study in Austria...
's Tiefland
Tiefland
Tiefland may refer to:* Tiefland a 1903 opera by Eugen d'Albert* Tiefland , a 1954 film by Leni Riefenstahl...
. In 1918 he sang in the world premiere performance of Paul Graener
Paul Graener
Paul Graener was a German composer and conductor.-Biography:Graener was born in Berlin and orphaned as a young child. A boy soprano, he taught himself composition and in 1896 moved to London, where he gave private lessons and served briefly as conductor at the Haymarket Theatre...
's opera Theofano.
In 1921 Gruber moved to the Landestheater Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
, where he started singing Heldentenor roles like Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
, Siegmund
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
, Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
, and also the Emperor in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
' Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
. From 1924 to 1926 he worked at the Staatsoper Hannover
Staatsoper Hannover
Staatsoper Hannover is an opera house and opera company in Hanover. It is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.During the course of its season from September to June, Staatsoper Hannover mounts productions of a variety of operas from the standard operatic repertoire as well as 20th century...
, and he finished his professional career at the Stadttheater in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, where he was active from 1926 till 1932. During this period he also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
and at several major German opera houses.