Friedrich Schorr

Friedrich Schorr ( born September 2, 1888 in Nagyvarad, Austria - Hungary, † 14 August 1953 in Farmington) was an Austrian-American bass - baritone Jewish descent.

Life

Friedrich Schorr was a son of the main cantor of the Great Synagogue in Vienna, Mayer Schorr, who also had an excellent baritone voice. He studied in Brno and Vienna and made his debut in 1912 in the role of Wotan in Graz, where he sang until 1916. 1916-1918 he sang in Prague, 1918-1923 in Cologne, 1923-1931, at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, next to 1923 and from 1929 to 1936 at the Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden in 1924-1933, 1924-1943 at the Metropolitan Opera 1925-1931 he appeared as Wotan, Wanderer, Hans Sachs and the Flying Dutchman on at the Bayreuth Festival. 1931 Schorr was settled in the United States, became an American citizen and devoted himself increasingly in addition to his numerous stage appearances educational tasks. In 1943, he took his leave as a wanderer from the stage, but still appeared in concerts. In 1943 he became director of the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and later he headed a studio for opera singing at the Hartt School in Hartford (Connecticut), also staged at the New York City Centre Opera Wagner operas.

In 1921 made ​​his first recordings for the German Grammophon, 1924/25, followed by recordings for Brunswick Records in the USA. His most famous recordings were made for the 1927-1932 Electrola and for His Master's Voice in Berlin and London, including duets with Frida Leider, Lauritz Melchior Emmi Leisner and. Live recordings from the late 1930s, when Schorr had already passed its zenith vocal, still testify to its impressively clear diction, his excellent breathing technique and his great, yet not exaggerated emotional expressiveness. In New York Schorr often sang along with his comrade -in-exile, Lotte Lehmann, Lauritz Melchior but also with Kirsten Flagstad and Helen Traubel.