Richard Breitenfeld
Encyclopedia
Richard Breitenfeld was a German baritone
who was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble and was murdered in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
.
Breitenfeld was born in Reichenburg
(now in the Czech Republic
) and made his debut in 1897 as Count Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore
in Cologne. In 1912, he sang the role of the count in Act II of Franz Schreker
's Der ferne Klang
in its world premiere at the Franfurt Opera. The contralto Magda Spiegel
, also of the Frankfurt Opera, was murdered in Auschwitz. According to Peter Hugh Reed writing in American Record Guide
(1949), Breitenfeld recorded for Odeon
and HMV between 1910 and 1914.
Richard Breitenfeld has a memorial stone in Frankfurt.
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
who was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble and was murdered in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
.
Breitenfeld was born in Reichenburg
Reichenburg
Reichenburg is a municipality in March District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.-History:It was founded in 1403 by the Dominican friar Gregory of Moorlock on the site of a spring used by pilgrims to wash their feet.-Geography:...
(now in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
) and made his debut in 1897 as Count Luna in Verdi'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...
in Cologne. In 1912, he sang the role of the count in Act II of Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, his style is characterized by aesthetic plurality , timbral experimentation, strategies of extended tonality and...
's Der ferne Klang
Der ferne Klang
Der ferne Klang is an opera by Franz Schreker, libretto by the composer.-Composition history:Drafted in 1901, Schreker completed the three-act libretto in 1903. However, composing the music would take about ten years. Criticism from his composition teacher Robert Fuchs caused Schreker to abandon...
in its world premiere at the Franfurt Opera. The contralto Magda Spiegel
Magda Spiegel
Magda Spiegel was a German contralto who was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble and was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp...
, also of the Frankfurt Opera, was murdered in Auschwitz. According to Peter Hugh Reed writing in American Record Guide
American Record Guide
The American Record Guide is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935.Since 1992, with the incorporation of the Musical America editorial functions into ARG, it started covering concerts, musicians, ensembles and orchestras in the US.The magazine prides...
(1949), Breitenfeld recorded for Odeon
Odeon Records
Odeon Records was a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. It was named after a famous theatre in Paris, whose classical dome appears on the Odeon record label....
and HMV between 1910 and 1914.
Richard Breitenfeld has a memorial stone in Frankfurt.