Ferry Gruber (28 September 1926 – 23 July 2004) was an Austrian-German
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
in opera and operetta. A member of both the
Bavarian State Opera
The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester.
History
The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...
and
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (''State Theatre at Gärtnerplatz''), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) ...
in Munich for half a century, he focused on roles of the
buffo
''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...
genre and operetta. He made recordings, appeared on radio and television, performed internationally at major opera houses and festivals, and worked also as an operetta director and a private voice teacher. He was a favourite with the audience, and received the title
Kammersänger
Kammersänger (male) or Kammersängerin (female), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or ...
.
Career
Born in Vienna, Gruber studied conducting at the
Wiener Musikakademie
The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817.
With a student body of over three thousa ...
with
Hans Swarowsky
Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975,) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth.
Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil, ...
and
Hermann Gallos
Hermann Gallos (21 January 1886 – 20 February 1957) was an Austrian operatic tenor and academic teacher. He was a long-standing ensemble member of the Vienna State Opera and performed regularly at the Salzburg Festival from 1922 to 1950, in role ...
. He then worked as a choral conductor in Vienna, but soon turned to singing. He made his debut at the Staatstheater Lucerne in 1950 as Tamino in Mozart's ''
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 ...
''. He moved to the
Theater Basel
Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas.
Because the theatre does not ha ...
and then went to the
Bavarian State Opera
The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester.
History
The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...
in Munich in 1954, where his first role was Alfredo in Verdi's ''
La traviata
''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
''. He turned to the buffo repertoire, such as Baron Lummer in ''
Intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...
'' by Richard Strauss, Benoît in Puccini's ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...
'', Dr. Blind in ''
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original ...
'' by Johann Strauss), Ambrogio in Rossini's ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
'', and Ferenc in Smetana's '' Die verkaufte Braut''. From the first year, Gruber also belonged to the ensemble of the
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (''State Theatre at Gärtnerplatz''), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) ...
there, specialising in operetta. He became one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the house, along with
Harry Friedauer
Harry Friedauer (7 July 1927 – 14 October 1985Elsewhere incorrectly given 1986 as the year of death and Munich as the place of death) was a German actor and operetta singer (tenor).
Life and career
Born in Karlsruhe, Friedauer was drafted at ...
. Among his opera and operetta partners were
Christine Görner
Christine Görner (born 15 June 1930) is a German opera singer (soprano) and actress.
Life and career
After her vocal training Görner was engaged at the age of 22 by the Staatsoper Hamburg. After a few years she went to Munich to the Staatsth ...
Erika Köth
Erika Köth (15 September 1925 in Darmstadt – 20 February 1989 in Speyer) was a German operatic high coloratura soprano, particularly associated with the roles of Ariadne auf Naxos, Zerbinetta and Don Giovanni, Zerlina.
Köth began a musical ...
,
Sári Barabás
Sári Barabás (14 March 1914 – 16 April 2012) was a Hungarian operatic soprano, particularly associated with coloratura roles.Obituary : Sári Barábas. ''Opera'', September 2012, Vol 63 No.9, p1076.
Biography
Sári Barabás was born in Budap ...
Ingeborg Hallstein
Ingeborg Hallstein (born 23 May 1936) is a German coloratura soprano, known for the purity and range of her voice. She had an international career as a guest singer on the opera houses of Europe and was a member of the Bavarian State Opera from ...
, staged in 1960 at the Theater am Gärtnerplatz by
Arno Assmann
Arno Assmann (30 July 1908 – 30 November 1979) was a German actor, film director and television writer. He committed suicide.
Filmography
As an actor
* '' The Original Sin'' (1948)
* '' The Last Illusion'' (1949)
* '' My Wife's Fr ...
. Gruber performed at the two Munich stages for 50 years, and appeared as a guest at major opera houses in Europe. From 1960, he performed regularly at the
Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...
in Vienna.
Gruber made several recordings with the conductor
Franz Marszalek
Franz Marszalek (born 2 August 1900 in Breslau, Schlesien, Germany (now Wrocław, Silesia, Poland); died 28 October 1975 in Cologne, Germany) was a German conductor and composer, who was a leading figure in operetta. He began his studies in Wro ...
for the broadcaster
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...
in Cologne. He made numerous recordings of operas and operettas. In addition, Gruber appeared in several operetta films and television broadcasts. He worked as an opera and operetta director from 1969 and gave private singing lessons. He was awarded the title
Kammersänger
Kammersänger (male) or Kammersängerin (female), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or ...
.
Gruber died in Munich at the age of 77 and was buried in the cemetery of
Gräfelfing
Gräfelfing is a municipality in the district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 1 km west of Munich.
The name "Gräfelfing" first appears as "Grevolvinga", which as per one hypothesis could possibly name a tribe leader named "gr ...
Das Land des Lächelns
''The Land of Smiles'' (German: ') is a 1929 romantic operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The German language libretto was by and Fritz Löhner-Beda. The performance duration is about 100 minutes.
This was one of Lehár's later works, and ...
'' (as Graf Gustav von Pottenstein/Gustl)
* Lehár: ''
Die lustige Witwe
''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...
'' (as Njegus)
* Orff: ''
Die Kluge
' (''The Wise irl The Story of the King and the Wise Woman'') is an opera in 12 scenes written by Carl Orff. It premiered at the Frankfurt Opera, Germany, on 20 February 1943. Orff referred to this opera as a ' ( fairy tale opera). The composer a ...
'' (as first vagabond)
* Orff: ''
Der Mond
' (''The Moon'') is an opera in one act by Carl Orff based on a Grimm's fairy tale with a libretto by the composer. It was first performed on 5 February 1939 by the Bavarian State Opera in Munich under the direction of Clemens Krauss. The composer ...
'' (as third rascal)
* Puccini: ''
Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'' (as Goro)
* Johann Strauss: ''
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original ...