Dezső Ernster (23 November 1898 – 15 February 1981) was a Hungarian opera singer who sang leading bass roles with the New York

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

from 1946 to 1963. In 1929, he created the role of Baron d'Houdoux in

Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

's ''

Neues vom Tage ''Neues vom Tage'' (English: ''News of the Day'') is a comic opera (''Lustige Oper'') in three parts by Paul Hindemith, with a German libretto by Marcellus Schiffer. The opera is a satire of modern life, celebrity and marriage, involving parodies ...

''.

Biography

Dezső Ernster was born in

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

, the son of a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

, and studied in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and

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

. He made his debut in

Plauen Plauen (; Czech language, Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the larges ...

in eastern Germany, as Hermann in ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'' in the 1924–1925 season. From 1929 he appeared at the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

and the

Kroll Opera House The Kroll Opera House (german: Krolloper, Kroll-Oper) in Berlin, Germany, was in the Tiergarten district on the western edge of the '' Königsplatz'' square (today ''Platz der Republik''), facing the Reichstag building. It was built in 1844 as ...

, where in 1929 he sang in the world premiere of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

's ''

'' conducted by

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...

. In 1931 he was engaged by

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

to sing in

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

and appeared there as Ritter in ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

'', Reinmar in ''Tannhäuser'' and Steuermann in ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

''. With the

Nazi rise to power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

in 1933, Ernster left Germany to live in Austria. In 1938 he went on tour in the United States with the Salzburg Opera Guild and stayed there for two years before returning to Hungary. By that time Jewish singers could no longer perform in Hungarian theatres. However, through OMIKE, the Hungarian Jewish Educational Association, he was able to sing the Jewish community's Goldmark Hall. In 1944, he escaped on the

Kastner train The Kastner train consisted of 35 cattle wagons that left Budapest on 30 June 1944, during the German occupation of Hungary, carrying over 1,600 Jews temporarily to Bergen-Belsen and safety in Switzerland after large ransom paid by Swiss Orthodo ...

, which carried 1,684 Jews to safety in Switzerland. After World War II ended, Ernster appeared in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and at New York's

where he made his debut on 20 November 1946 as King Marke in ''Tristan und Isolde''. He went on to sing 175 performances with company between 1946 and 1963. His last performance at the Met was the Grand Inquisitor in ''

Don Carlo ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

'' During his career Ernster also sang with the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when he ...

, the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

and the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) 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. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

. He returned to Europe in 1963 and settled in Switzerland. His last opera performance was in Budapest in 1966 when he sang Sarastro in ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...

'' at the

Margaret Island Margaret Island ( hu, Margitsziget ; german: Margareteninsel; tr, Kızadası) is a long island, wide, ( in area) in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recrea ...

open-air theatre. Dezső Ernster spent his last years in Zurich where he died of cancer in 1981, aged 82. His sister, Adelina Ernster (died 1963, New York), was also an opera singer and performed primarily in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

.''The New York Times'' (18 November 1963) p. 33

Principal roles

* Sarastro (''

'') * Commendatore (''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'') * Daland (''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner claim ...

'') * Hermann (''

'' * Hunding (''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...

'') * Hagen (

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as p ...

) * King Marke (''

'')

Recordings

*''Don Giovanni'' –

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

(1954), conducted by

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

. Label:

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

*''Fidelio'' –

(1951), conducted by

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...

. Label: Music and Arts Programs of America *''

'' – compilation from performances at the Metropolitan Opera (1936, 1939) conducted by Artur Bodanzky and (1951) conducted by Fritz Stiedry;

(1937) conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler;

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

(1950) conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. Label: Guild *'' Salome'' – Metropolitan Opera (1949) conducted by Fritz Reiner. Label: Guild

References

Sources

* * Frojimovics, Kinga and Komoróczy, Géza
''Jewish Budapest: Monuments, Rites, History''
Central European University Press, 1999. * Löb, Ladislaus, ''Dealing with Satan: Rezső Kasztner's Daring Rescue Mission'', Jonathan Cape, 2008. * Maguidhir, Ivan
Dezső Ernster
2008. Accessed 25 December 2009. *

Ernster, Dezsö (Bass)
performance record on the MetOpera Database * ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', "Adelina Ernster", 18 November 1963, p. 33 * ''The New York Times''
"Deszo Ernster, 82, Bass; Sang With Met 17 Years"
26 February 1981, p. B16. * Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J. "Ernster, Dezső", ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1979, pp. 155–156. ; Further reading * Imre, Fábián, ''Ernster Dezső'', Zeneműkiadó, 1969 (in Hungarian with an introduction by Otto Klemperer) * Di Cave, Luciano, ''Mille voci una stella: il contributo degli esecutori vocali ebrei o di origine ebraica alla musica operistica e classica'', Carucci Editore, 1985 (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernster, Dezsoe 1898 births 1981 deaths People from Pécs Hungarian Jews 20th-century Hungarian male opera singers Operatic basses Hungarian expatriates in Germany Hungarian expatriates in Austria Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland Hungarian refugees Jewish opera singers Kastner train