Gotthard Kronstein (14 January 1927 – 2 June 1997) was a German operatic
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
and
theatre director.
Life
Born in
Kotzenau, Kronstein attended the elementary and in
Glogau on the
Oder
The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
and during the
Second World War, he attended a
special matriculation course in
Königsberg. As a youth, he was still obliged to join the
Wehrmacht in 1945 and ended up in
war captivity.
[ Hugo Thielen: ''Kronstein, Gotthard.'' In the ', ]
Not even an adult, Kronstein came into the
Luftangriffe 48 percent war-destroyed
Hanover, where he was employed from 1946 to 1947 by the Hannover employment office as clerk for youth issues.
From 1947 to 1949, he assumed the chairmanship of the "Club junger Menschen" initiated by
Theanolte Bähnisch and the "Clubs junger Menschen". At the same time, Kronstein was able to begin his studies in 1947, first in economics, law and psychology at the
Technische Hochschule Hannover, then in stage law and theatre management at the
University of Cologne. He received his diploma in business administration in 1956.
While still a student in Hannover, Kronstein took private singing lessons with Irmel Holzapfel and Laurenz Hofer,
who ran a singing studio with his wife
Greta Hofer. Kronstein was awarded several prizes for vocal performances parallel to his studies, in Munich, in the Italian city of
Vercelli and - with the first prize as baritone - in 1956 in Verviers, Belgium. Until 1968, he had engagements as a singer in Basel, Braunschweig and Essen.
From 1969 to 1975, Kronstein took over the management of three companies owned by his first wife's family.
In 1982, he married the opera singer
Hildegard Uhrmacher
Hildegard Uhrmacher (born 15 December 1939), married name Hildegard Kronstein-Uhrmacher, is a German operatic soprano who appeared at European opera houses in coloratura soprano roles such as Mozart's Konstanze, but also in contemporary works in ...
.
From 1975 to 1989, Kronstein directed the . In 1975, he joined the and took over its chairmanship from 1982 to 1993 in succession to
Reimar Dahlgrün
Reimar Dahlgrün (7 April 1914 – 16 April 1982) was a German pianist, professor at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover and journalist.Hugo Thielen: ''Dahlgrün''.
Life
Born in Hanover during the Weimar Republic, Dahlgrü ...
. In 1982, he became executive member of the
Internationale Musikakademie für Solisten (IMAS) in Hannover.
Kronstein died in Hannover at the age of 70.
Recordings
* Franz Schubert:
Messe Es-Dur, Hannoversche Chorgemeinschaft,
Göttinger Symphonie Orchester, Hannover 1983; 1982 concert recording in the Großer Sendesaal of the
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...
in Hannover.
Further reading
* Hildegard Kronstein-Uhrmacher: ''Hilde, du schaffst das''.
''Hilde, du schaffst das : Koloraturen von Ariadne bis Zauberflöte''
on WorldCat Leuenhagen und Paris, Hannover 2006,
* Hugo Thielen: ''Kronstein, Gotthard.'' In Dirk Böttcher, Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein, Hugo Thielen: ''. Von den Anfängen bis in die Gegenwart.'' Schlütersche, Hannover 2002, , .
* Hugo Thielen: ''Kronstein, Gotthard.'' In Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein (ed.): '' Von den Anfängen bis in die Gegenwart.'' Schlütersche, Hannover 2009, , p. 372f.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kronstein, Gotthard
German operatic baritones
German theatre directors
1927 births
1997 deaths
People from Polkowice County
Musicians from the Province of Silesia
20th-century German male singers
German Army personnel of World War II
German prisoners of war in World War II