Anton Haizinger (also spelled Haitzinger; 14 March 1796 – 31 December 1869) was an Austrian operatic tenor, performing in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and later in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

. He was a soloist in the premiere of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's Ninth Symphony.

Early life

Haizinger was born in Wilfersdorf in 1796. His father, a teacher, gave him lessons in singing and piano, and he sang in church festivals; his outstanding voice became well-known. However, he trained in

Korneuburg Korneuburg () is a town in Austria. It is located in the state Lower Austria and is the administrative center of the district of Korneuburg. Korneuburg is situated on the left bank of the Danube, opposite the city of Klosterneuburg, and is 12&n ...

to be a teacher, and became a teacher in Vienna. He continued musical studies, studying with Franz Volkert and others. Count Ferdinánd Pálffy, director of

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

, heard Haizinger sing in concerts, and offered him an engagement at the theatre; Haizinger gave up teaching.Anton Haizinger
Stadtlexikon Karlsruhe. Retrieved 11 January 2018.

Opera in Vienna

Haizinger's first roles at Theater an der Wien, in 1821, were in two operas by Rossini, as Gianetto in ''

La gazza ladra ''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caig ...

'' and Lindoro in ''

L'italiana in Algeri ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...

''. He soon became well-known in Vienna. The role of Adolar in Weber's opera ''

Euryanthe ''Euryanthe'' ( J. 291, Op. 81) is a German grand heroic-romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber, first performed at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna on 25 October 1823.Brown, p. 88 Though acknowledged as one of Weber's most important operas, ...

'', premiered in 1823 at the

Theater am Kärntnertor or (Carinthian Gate Theatre) was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its official title was (Imperial and Royal Court Theatre of Vienna). History The theatre was built in 1709 to designs by Anto ...

, was created for him, and he was a soloist in the premiere in 1824 of

's Ninth Symphony at the same theatre. He continued studies with

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

. At this time, Italian opera was becoming more popular in Vienna than German opera, and he left the city in 1825, appearing in Prague, Bratislava, Frankfurt am Main and elsewhere.

In Karlsruhe

He had an engagement at the Karlsruher Hoftheatre, and his performance impressed the theatre director, Joseph von Auffenberg: in 1826 he offered Haizinger a lifelong engagement at the theatre. Haizinger settled in Karlsruhe. In 1827, he married Amalie Neumann; they had a son, and there were two stepdaughters. There were several tours: from 1828 to 1830 to Paris, and from 1831 to 1832 to London; he was in St. Petersburg in 1835. In London in 1832, Haizinger, with a German opera company brought to the King's Theatre by

Joseph August Röckel Joseph August Röckel (28 August 1783 – September 1870) was a German operatic tenor and opera producer. He played Florestan in the 1806 revival of Beethoven's opera ''Fidelio'' in Vienna, and later produced the opera for the first time in London. ...

, played Florestan in Beethoven's opera ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

''. The

Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Earl of Mount Edgcumbe is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for George Edgcumbe, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe. This branch of the Edgcumbe family descends from Sir Piers Edgcumbe of Cotehele in Cornwall (descended from the ...

wrote that his voice was "very beautiful", but the critic

Henry Chorley Henry Fothergill Chorley (15 December 1808 – 16 February 1872) was an English literary, art and music critic, writer and editor. He was also an author of novels, drama, poetry and lyrics. Chorley was a prolific and important music and litera ...

described him as "a meritorious musician with an ungainly presence; an actor whose strenuousness in representing the hunger of the imprisoned captive in the dungeon trenched closely on burlesque". Haizinger retired in 1858, and afterwards appeared only occasionally. In Karlsruhe, he expanded the singing school he had started during his stage career, and he edited educational books for singers. He died in Karlsruhe in 1869.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haizinger, Anton 1796 births 1869 deaths Austrian operatic tenors 19th-century Austrian male opera singers