Bernd Aldenhoff
Encyclopedia
Bernd Aldenhoff was a German Heldentenor.
He was born in 1908 in Duisburg
and was raised in an orphanage in the Rhineland
.
Despite his humble beginnings he managed to secure an engagement in the Cologne Opera chorus. While in Cologne
he continued his vocal studies with Professor Lenz and was eventually promoted to soloist in the Cologne theater.
After engagements in Darmstadt
and Erfurt
, he first came to national prominence at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein
, Düsseldorf
, where he sang from 1938 to 1944. During this period he made several guest appearances at the Oper Frankfurt, where he made a strong impression in the Verdi spinto roles of Manrico and Riccardo.
During the war he sang in a number of German provincial houses, and from 1944 to 1952 he was a member of the Dresden
Semperoper
, where he developed into a Heldentenor.
He first appeared at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
in 1951 as Siegfried
in "Der Ring des Nibelungen
" under both Knappertsbusch and Karajan
, and returned there to repeat the role several times until 1957.
He appeared in Bavarian State Opera
Munich
between 1950 and 1958 in operas by Weber
and Verdi, and in Richard Strauss
's Die ägyptische Helena
, and sang Siegfried in Götterdämmerung
at Covent Garden
in 1957. He made his Met
debut as Tannhäuser
, and also appeared at La Scala
, the Paris Opéra
and the Opernhaus Zürich.
Bernd Aldenhoff was not only one of the last heldentenors, but also one of the most interesting. Knappertsbusch called him the most "human heldentenor" of his time.
As an interpreter, Aldenhoff was, without a doubt, the most precise and sensitive Wagner tenor of his generation.
He died in Munich on 8 October 1959 at the peak of his career from food poisoning.
Brünnhilde: Astrid Varnay; Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Hagen: Ludwig Weber; Alberich: Heinrich Pflanzl; Gunther: Hermann Uhde; Gutrune: Martha Mödl;
Dirigent: Hans Knappertsbusch Festspielhaus; Bayreuth, 04. August 1951
Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Mime: Paul Kuën; Dirigent: Joseph Keilberth; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 14. August 1952
Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Mime: Paul Kuën; Dirigent: Joseph Keilberth; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 14. August 1952
Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Mime: Paul Kuën; Dirigent: Joseph Keilberth; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 14. August 1952
Daland: Kurt Böhme, Senta: Helene Werth, Erik: Bernd Aldenhoff, Mary: Res Fischer, Steuermann: Helmut Krebs, Holländer: Hans Hotter - Chor und Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks - Wilhelm Schüchter - Hamburg 1951
He was born in 1908 in Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
and was raised in an orphanage in the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
.
Despite his humble beginnings he managed to secure an engagement in the Cologne Opera chorus. While in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
he continued his vocal studies with Professor Lenz and was eventually promoted to soloist in the Cologne theater.
After engagements in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
and Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
, he first came to national prominence at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company....
, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, where he sang from 1938 to 1944. During this period he made several guest appearances at the Oper Frankfurt, where he made a strong impression in the Verdi spinto roles of Manrico and Riccardo.
During the war he sang in a number of German provincial houses, and from 1944 to 1952 he was a member of the Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
Semperoper
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
, where he developed into a Heldentenor.
He first appeared at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
in 1951 as 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...
in "Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
" under both Knappertsbusch and Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, and returned there to repeat the role several times until 1957.
He appeared in Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
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...
between 1950 and 1958 in operas by Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
and Verdi, and 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 Die ägyptische Helena
Die ägyptische Helena
Die ägyptische Helena is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on June 6, 1928...
, and sang Siegfried in Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in 1957. He made his Met
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
debut as Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, and also appeared at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, the Paris Opéra
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
and the Opernhaus Zürich.
Bernd Aldenhoff was not only one of the last heldentenors, but also one of the most interesting. Knappertsbusch called him the most "human heldentenor" of his time.
As an interpreter, Aldenhoff was, without a doubt, the most precise and sensitive Wagner tenor of his generation.
He died in Munich on 8 October 1959 at the peak of his career from food poisoning.
Roles
- d’Albert: "Tiefland", Pedro
- Beethoven: "Fidelio", Florestan
- Flotow: "Martha", Lyonel
- Kienzl: "Der Evangelienmann", Matthias
- Offenbach: "Hoffmanns Erzählungen", Hoffmann
- Pfitzner: "Der arme Heinrich", Heinrich
- Puccini: "La Bohème", Rudolfo
- Puccini "Madame Butterfly", Pinkerton
- Strauss: "Salome", Herodes
- Strauss: "Elektra", Ägisth
- Strauss: "Ariadne auf Naxos", Bacchus
- Strauss: "Arabella", Matteo
- Strauss: "Die ägyptische Helena", Menelaos
- Verdi: "Il Trovatore", Manrico
- Verdi: "Un ballo in maschera", Riccardo
- Verdi: "Otello", Otello
- Wagner: "Der fliegende Holländer", Erik
- Wagner: "Tannhäuser", Tannhäuser
- Wagner: "Lohengrin", Lohengrin
- Wagner: "Meistersinger von Nürnberg", Walther von Stolzing
- Wagner: "Tristan und Isolde", Tristan
- Wagner: "Walküre", Siegmund
- Wagner: "Siegfried", Siegfried
- Wagner: "Götterdämmerung", Siegfried
- Wagner: "Parsifal", Parsifal
- Wagner (Siegfried) "Der Heidenkönig", Radoma
- Wagner-Régeny: "Der Günstling", Fabiano
- Weber: "Der Freischütz", Max
Discography
- D'Albert: TieflandTieflandTiefland may refer to:* Tiefland a 1903 opera by Eugen d'Albert* Tiefland , a 1954 film by Leni Riefenstahl...
– Orchestra of the NDR, Rudolf Alberth, 1953 - Beethoven: Ninth Symphony – Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Hermann AbendrothHermann AbendrothHermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth was a German conductor.-Early life:Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, Germany, belonging to a family which had already produced other artistic figures of divers disciplines...
, 1950 - Beethoven: FidelioFidelioFidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
– Staatskapelle Dresden, Joseph KeilberthJoseph KeilberthJoseph Keilberth was a German conductor who specialized in opera.He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Near the end of World War II he became principal conductor of the Dresden...
, 1948 - Pfitzner: Die Rose vom Liebesgarten – Symphonieorchester of the Bayerische Rundfunk, Robert HegerRobert HegerRobert Heger was a German conductor and composer from Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine.He studied at the Conservatory of Strasbourg, under Franz Stockhausen, then in Zurich under Lothar Kempter, and finally in Munich under Max von Schillings. After early conducting engagements in Strasbourg he made his...
, 1953 - Strauss: Salome – Staatskapelle Dresden, Joseph Keilberth, 1948
- Strauss: Elektra – Bayerische Staatsoper, Hans KnappertsbuschHans KnappertsbuschHans Knappertsbusch was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
1956 - Strauss: Die ägyptische Helena – Bayerische Staatsoper, Joseph Keilberth, 1956
- Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer – Orchester of the NDR, Wilhelm SchüchterWilhelm SchüchterWilhelm Schüchter was a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor in Dortmund and left a legacy of opera recordings.-Professional career:...
, 1951 - Wagner: Die Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von NürnbergDie 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,...
– Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Rudolf KempeRudolf KempeRudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929...
, 1951 - Wagner: Siegfried – Bayreuther Festspiele, Herbert von KarajanHerbert von KarajanHerbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, 1951 - Wagner: Siegfried – Bayreuther Festspiele, Joseph Keilberth, 1952
- Wagner: Siegfried – Bayreuther Festspiele, Hans Knappertsbusch 1957
- Wagner: Siegfried – Opernhaus Zürich, Robert F. Denzler 1959
- Wagner: GötterdämmerungGötterdämmerungis the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
– Bayreuther Festspiele, Knappertsbusch, 1951 - Wagner: Götterdämmerung – Bayerische Staatsoper, Hans Knappertsbusch, 1955
- Wagner: Parsifal – Sinfonieorchester of the Kölner Rundfunk, Richard Kraus, 1949
- Weber: Der Freischütz – Sächsischer Staatskapelle Dresden, Rudolf Kempe, 1949
- Lebendige Vergangenheit – Bernd Aldenhoff (Aufnahmen 1946–1949)
- Waldoper Zoppot – Das Bayreuth des Nordens und seine Sänger
- "A Portrait of Marianne Schech" - Highlights of the 2. act Parsifal, Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Eugen Jochum
- "Georg HannGeorg HannGeorg Hann was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with the comic German repertory....
Arias 1942-43 Recordings" - Highlights of Rheingold - "Leonie RysanekLeonie RysanekLeopoldine "Leonie" Rysanek was an Austrian dramatic soprano.-Biography:Rysanek was born in Vienna and made her operatic debut in 1949 in Innsbruck. In 1951 the Bayreuth Festival reopened and the new leader Wieland Wagner asked her to sing Sieglinde...
sings Beethoven/Wagner/Verdi" - Highlights of Aida - "Josef Metternich - Rare and Unreleased Recordings" - Highlights of Otello
Audio examples
- http://img668.libsyn.com/img668/3d0afd54720635a8db162061bcf11d94/4688b25f/9104/1038/GOTTERDAMMERUNG_ACT_2.mp3 Richard Wagner: 2. Act Götterdämmerung
Brünnhilde: Astrid Varnay; Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Hagen: Ludwig Weber; Alberich: Heinrich Pflanzl; Gunther: Hermann Uhde; Gutrune: Martha Mödl;
Dirigent: Hans Knappertsbusch Festspielhaus; Bayreuth, 04. August 1951
- http://www.imagemogul.com/opera/forging.mp3 Richard Wagner: Schmiedelied aus 1. Act Siegfried
Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Mime: Paul Kuën; Dirigent: Joseph Keilberth; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 14. August 1952
- http://heldentenor.narod.ru/tenor/Aldenhoff52.mp3 Richard Wagner, Siegfried 1. Act: „He, Mime! Geschwind! Wie heißt das Schwert?“
Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Mime: Paul Kuën; Dirigent: Joseph Keilberth; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 14. August 1952
- http://www.heldentenor.narod.ru/tenor/Aldenhoff521.mp3 Richard Wagner, Siegfried 1. Act: „Hoho! Hoho! Hohei!“
Siegfried: Bernd Aldenhoff; Mime: Paul Kuën; Dirigent: Joseph Keilberth; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 14. August 1952
- http://www.myoperatoday.com/music/wagner/dutchman/Act_I.mp3 Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer - 1. act
- http://www.myoperatoday.com/music/wagner/dutchman/Act_II.mp3 Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer - 2. act
- http://www.myoperatoday.com/music/wagner/dutchman/Act_III.mp3 Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer - 3. act
Daland: Kurt Böhme, Senta: Helene Werth, Erik: Bernd Aldenhoff, Mary: Res Fischer, Steuermann: Helmut Krebs, Holländer: Hans Hotter - Chor und Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks - Wilhelm Schüchter - Hamburg 1951