Lillie Claus
Encyclopedia
Biography
She received a musical education in her youth (vocals, piano, dance schoolDance studio
A dance studio is a space in which dancers learn or rehearse. The term is typically used to describe a space that has either been built or equipped for the purpose....
). When she was 16 she entered the Vienna Academy of Music. She debuted as Papagena in Mozart's 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....
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...
.
After engagements at several theatres, she returned to the Vienna State Opera. There, she heard the composer Nico Dostal
Nico Dostal
Nico Dostal was an Austrian operetta and film music composer.-Life:Dostal was born in Korneuburg, Lower Austria, and was the nephew of composer Hermann Dostal...
was in search a leading singer for his operetta "Clivia". On 23 December 1933, she was took part in the premiere in the Berlin theatre on Nollendorfplatz.
On 30 November 1934, she sang the 'Lied der Lulu' (part of the five-movement concert suite version of Alban Berg's opera Lulu
Lulu (opera)
Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
) at the Berlin Staatsoper
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
under Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber was an Austrian conductor.- Biography :Born in Vienna, Kleiber studied in Prague...
.
In the ensuing period Lillie Claus focused increasingly on operetta. Nico Dostal wrote her several of his operettas for her voice.
- 1935 The frequent lover ( "I am in love")
- 1936 Princess Nefertiti
- 1937 Extra leaves ( "I forgot my heart away")
- 1937 Monika ( "Home Song")
- 1939 The Hungarian wedding ( "I play the song of happiness and litter")
In 1942 she married Nico Dostal and retired from the stage. Their son Roman Dostal, later to be a conductor, was born in 1943 and the family lived in Salzburg. At Nico Dostal's 100th birthday celebration in 1995, the 90-year-old Lillie Claus Dostal was still in the best of health and participated in the events. She made several records.
Recordings
- Eine Grande Dame der Operette: Lillie Claus. Songs from operettas and films. Recordings between 1932 and 1941. Rv-Musik RV2618 CD.