Hans Herbert Fiedler
Encyclopedia
Hans Herbert Fiedler was a German
opera
tic bass
and actor
. He is best known today for portraying the role of Moses in the original 1954 production of Arnold Schoenberg
's Moses und Aron
.
. He joined the Theater von Troppau in Opava
in 1930 where he appeared in stage plays for one season. He joined the Stadttheater von Würzburg in 1931 where he appeared in roles until 1935 when he joined the Volkstheater München. From 1937 through 1940 he worked as a radio broadcaster for the Sender München. During this he became interested in opera and began studying singing
in Munich and later with Moratti in Salzburg
.
Fiedler made his professional opera debut in 1940 at the Landestheater in Salzburg
portraying the role of Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute
. He sang two seasons with that opera house before joining the Theater von Aussig for the 1942-1943 season. He next joined the roster at the Stadttheater von Bremen where he sang roles from 1943-1953. After a commitment at the Stadttheater von Mainz (1953-55), his career became more centered within the concert repertoire than in opera, although he still occasionally appeared in stage works. He notably sang the bass solos in Germany's first performance of Bartok's Cantata Profana
in Cologne in 1954.
Fiedler periodically performed as a guest artist with several opera houses and opera festivals. In 1947 he sang in a few productions at the opera house in Düsseldorf. In 1951 he sang in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze
's radio opera Ein Landarzt. On the 12 March 1954 he sang the role of Moses in the world premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aron
. This original production was performed in a concert version, but Fiedler reprised the role for the opera's first staged performance at the Zurich Opera House
on 6 June 1957. In 1955 he portrayed the role of The Cardinal of Lorraine in Hans Pfitzner
's Palestrina
at the Salzburg Festival
.
Fiedler retired from his singing career in 1965 after which he joined the voice faculty at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich
.
's Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Pyotr Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin
, Rodrigo in Guiseppe Verdi's Don Carlo , Iago in Verdi's Otello
, Scarpia in Giacomo Puccini
's Tosca
, Sixtus Beckmesser in Richard Wagner
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, the title role in the Boris Godunov
and the Jochanaan in Richard Strauss
's Salome
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
opera
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 bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is best known today for portraying the role of Moses in the original 1954 production of Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
's Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the third act unfinished. The German libretto was by the composer after the Book of Exodus.-Compositional history:...
.
Biography
Fiedler studied Germanistics (German Studies) and acting at the University of GrazUniversity of Graz
The University of Graz , a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria....
. He joined the Theater von Troppau in Opava
Opava
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. The historical capital of Czech Silesia, Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 59,843 as of January 1, 2005....
in 1930 where he appeared in stage plays for one season. He joined the Stadttheater von Würzburg in 1931 where he appeared in roles until 1935 when he joined the Volkstheater München. From 1937 through 1940 he worked as a radio broadcaster for the Sender München. During this he became interested in opera and began studying singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
in Munich and later with Moratti in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
.
Fiedler made his professional opera debut in 1940 at the Landestheater in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
portraying the role of Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
. He sang two seasons with that opera house before joining the Theater von Aussig for the 1942-1943 season. He next joined the roster at the Stadttheater von Bremen where he sang roles from 1943-1953. After a commitment at the Stadttheater von Mainz (1953-55), his career became more centered within the concert repertoire than in opera, although he still occasionally appeared in stage works. He notably sang the bass solos in Germany's first performance of Bartok's Cantata Profana
Cantata Profana
Cantata Profana Sz. 94, is a choral work for tenor, baritone, choir and orchestra by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók...
in Cologne in 1954.
Fiedler periodically performed as a guest artist with several opera houses and opera festivals. In 1947 he sang in a few productions at the opera house in Düsseldorf. In 1951 he sang in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
's radio opera Ein Landarzt. On the 12 March 1954 he sang the role of Moses in the world premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron
Moses und Aron is a three-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg with the third act unfinished. The German libretto was by the composer after the Book of Exodus.-Compositional history:...
. This original production was performed in a concert version, but Fiedler reprised the role for the opera's first staged performance at the Zurich Opera House
Zurich Opera House
Opernhaus Zürich is an opera house in the Swiss city of Zurich. It has been the home of the Zurich Opera since 1891.- History :...
on 6 June 1957. In 1955 he portrayed the role of The Cardinal of Lorraine in Hans Pfitzner
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
's Palestrina
Palestrina (opera)
Palestrina is an opera by the German composer Hans Pfitzner, first performed in 1917. The composer referred to it as a Musikalische Legende , and wrote the libretto himself, based on a legend about the Renaissance musician Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who saves the art of contrapuntal music ...
at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
.
Fiedler retired from his singing career in 1965 after which he joined the voice faculty at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Opera repertoire
Fiedler sang a wide repertoire that encompassed German, Italian, French, Czech, and Russian opera. Some of the stage roles for which he achieved considerable success are Count Almaviva in Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Pyotr Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, Rodrigo in Guiseppe Verdi's Don Carlo , Iago in Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Scarpia in Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, Sixtus Beckmesser in Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, the title role in the Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
and the Jochanaan 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...
's Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
.