Gretl Schörg
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Gretl Schörg (17 January 1914 – 4 January 2006) was an
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
tic
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
and actress. She was particularly known for her performances in
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s. Her signature roles included Dodo in ''
Wedding Night in Paradise ''Wedding Night in Paradise'' (German: ''Hochzeitsnacht im Paradis'') is an operetta in eight scenes. Book by Heinz Hentschke, lyrics by Gunther Schwenn and music by Friedrich Schröder.Meyer-Dinkgrafe p.22 It was premièred in Berlin at the M ...
'', Josepha Vogelhuber in ''
The White Horse Inn ''The White Horse Inn'' (or ''White Horse Inn'') (German title: ''Im weißen Rößl'' ) is an operetta or musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz in collaboration with a number of other composers and writers, set in the picturesque Salz ...
'', Juliette in ''
Der Graf von Luxemburg ''Der Graf von Luxemburg'' (''The Count of Luxembourg'') is an operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár to a German libretto by Alfred Maria Willner, Alfred Willner, Robert Bodanzky, and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein. A Viennese take on Bohemianism, ...
'', Julischka in ''
Maske in Blau '' Maske in Blau'' (''Mask in Blue'') is a grand operetta in two parts (six scenes) with music by Fred Raymond to a libretto by Heinz Hentschke and Günther Schwenn. The work had its premiere under Werner Schmidt-Boelke on 27 September 1937 at ...
'', Laura in ''
Der Bettelstudent ''Der Bettelstudent'' (''The Beggar Student'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel (under the pseudonym of F. Zell) and Richard Genée, based on ''Les noces de Fernande'' by Victorien Sardou a ...
'', and Pepi in '' Wiener Blut''. She made several operetta recordings for
Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company'). The name "Telefunken" app ...
,
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, and
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
. She was also active as a dramatic actress on the stage and in films. In April 2004 she was awarded the
Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...
.


Life and career

Born 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 ...
, Schörg first trained for the profession of
typist Typist is a person who types, a clerical worker who writes documents, using a typewriter. Skills and occupations Typist may also refer to: *Data entry clerk, someone who types data into a database via a computer or terminal. * Audio typist, someone ...
. In 1937, at the age of 23, she won a beauty contest and became "Queen of Danube". That same year she made her stage debut in
Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...
at the
Antonín Dvořák Theatre The Antonín Dvořák Theatre is an opera house in Ostrava, Czech Republic, which opened in 1907. Since 1919 it has been one of two permanent venues of the National Moravian Silesian Theatre. History The Neo-baroque building of the theatre wa ...
in the world premiere of
Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...
's play ''Der jüngste Tag''. She spent the next two years performing at that theatre, and at theatres in
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...
,
Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...
, Marienbad, 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 ...
(
Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...
). In 1939 she joined the
opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
in Aussig (now Usti nad Labem) where she became popular as a performer in
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s. She made her professional opera debut at that house as Hannerl in
Heinrich Berté Heinrich Berté (), born Heinrich Bettelheim (8 May 1858 – 23 August 1924) was an Austria-Hungarian composer of operas and operettas. Life Heinrich Berté was born in Galgócz, Hungary (now Hlohovec, Slovakia) in a Jewish family. At the b ...
's arrangement of
Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's ''
Das Dreimäderlhaus ''Das Dreimäderlhaus'' (''House of the Three Girls''), adapted into English-language versions as ''Blossom Time'' and ''Lilac Time'', is a Viennese pastiche operetta with music by Franz Schubert, rearranged by Heinrich Berté (1857–1924), ...
''. In 1940 Schörg went to the
Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, a ...
where she was admired in the
soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a c ...
and operetta repertoire during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. With that company she sang in the world premieres of
Ludwig Schmidseder Ludwig Schmidseder (24 August 1904, in Passau – 21 June 1971, in Munich) was a German composer and pianist of the "Light Muse". Several of his Schlager compositions are still popular tunes today. The young Schmidseder followed his father's wi ...
's '' Frauen im Metropol'' (1940, Fritzi) and
Friedrich Schröder Friedrich Schröder (6 August 1910 – 25 September 1972) was a Swiss composer of what could be referred to as light music. Career Born in Näfels, Switzerland, Schröder studied music in Stuttgart, Münster, and Berlin. Already in those ...
's ''Friedrich Schröder'' (1941). She also spent those years performing in small film roles. After the war, Schörg was active in operettas at the
Admiralspalast The Admiralspalast (German for ''admiral palace'') is a 1,756-seat theatre on Friedrichstraße in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1910, it is one of the few preserved variety venues of the pre-World War II era in the city. As a ...
theatre and the Theater am Nollendorfplatz in Berlin. She also began appearing in more prominent roles in films, often in partnership with
Johannes Heesters Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the concert stag ...
and
Romy Schneider Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...
. In the first half of the 1950s she performed in many operetta productions of the WDR
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
with
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 ...
. She was then active with the
Vienna 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 ...
, the Vienna Chamber Opera, and 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.) ...
in Munich. She was also heard frequently in operetta broadcasts on German and Austrian radio stations during the 1950s. In the 1960s, Schörg returned to her work as a dramatic actress at the Berliner Boulevardbühnen and Düsseldorfer Boulevardbühnen. For health reasons, she restricted her professional activities during the last decade of her career, which she ended in the early 1970s. She lived in retirement in Vienna, where she died in 2006. She was buried in the Hernalser Cemetery (Group E, No. 129). At the Vienna cemetery administration but is listed as '' Margaret Pfreimer''.


Selected filmography

* '' Kollege kommt gleich'' (1943) * '' Herr Sanders lebt gefährlich'' (1944) * '' Intimitäten'' (1948) * ''
The Heavenly Waltz ''The Heavenly Waltz'' (German: ''Der himmlische Walzer'') is a 1948 Austrian comedy film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Elfie Mayerhofer, Paul Hubschmid and Inge Konradi. The film's sets were designed by the art director Fritz Jüpt ...
'' (1948) * '' Märchen vom Glück'' (1949) * '' Verlobte Leute'' (1950) * ''
One Night Apart ''One Night Apart'' (german: Eine Nacht im Separee) is a 1950 West German period comedy film directed by Hans Deppe and starring Kurt Seifert, Olga Tschechowa and Sonja Ziemann.Höfig p. 95 It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The fi ...
'' (1950) * ''
Wedding Night In Paradise ''Wedding Night in Paradise'' (German: ''Hochzeitsnacht im Paradis'') is an operetta in eight scenes. Book by Heinz Hentschke, lyrics by Gunther Schwenn and music by Friedrich Schröder.Meyer-Dinkgrafe p.22 It was premièred in Berlin at the M ...
'' (1950) * '' This Man Belongs to Me'' (1950) * '' The Black Forest Girl'' (1950) * ''
The Blue Star of the South ''The Blue Star of the South'' (German: ''Der blaue Stern des Südens'') is a 1951 Austrian comedy film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Viktor de Kowa, Gustav Knuth and Gretl Schörg.Fritsche p.241 It was shot at the Bavaria Studios ...
'' (1951) * '' Season in Salzburg'' (1952) * ''
Die Fiakermilli Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicond ...
'' (1953) * '' Grandstand for General Staff'' (1953) * ''
Secretly Still and Quiet ''Secretly Still and Quiet'' (german: Heimlich, still und leise) is a 1953 West German musical comedy film directed by Hans Deppe and starring Gretl Schörg, Hans Nielsen, and Theo Lingen. It was made at the Munich Studios of Bavaria Film. The f ...
'' (1953) * ''
Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
'' (1953) * ''
Die Deutschmeister Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicond ...
'' (1955) * '' The Spanish Fly'' (1955) * '' His Daughter is Called Peter'' (1955) * ''
Bel Ami ''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ''Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel'' first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist ...
'' (1955) * '' Imperial and Royal Field Marshal'' (1956) * ''
Arena of Fear ''Arena of Fear'' (german: Geliebte Bestie) is a 1959 Austrian drama film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Gerhard Riedmann, Margit Nünke and Willy Birgel. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Alexander Sawczynski a ...
'' (1959) * ''
Jacqueline Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film), ...
'' (1959) * '' Vor Jungfrauen wird gewarnt'' (1962) * ' (1970) * '' Love Is Only a Word'' (1971) * ''
The Mad Aunts Strike Out ''The Mad Aunts Strike Out'' (german: Die tollen Tanten schlagen zu) is a 1971 West German comedy film directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb and starring Rudi Carrell, Ilja Richter, and Mascha Gonska.Bock & Bergfelder p. 269 It is part of a series o ...
'' (1971) * ' (1972) *''
My Daughter, Your Daughter ''My Daughter, Your Daughter'' (German: ''Meine Tochter – Deine Tochter'') is a 1972 West German comedy film directed by Werner Jacobs and starring Chris Roberts, Georg Thomalla and Peter Weck. Bock & Bergfelder p.269 Location shooting took p ...
'' (1972)


Literature

* Klaus Rittweger: Gretl Schörg. Mein Theaterleben. Wagner, Gelnhausen 2004,


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schorg, Gretl 1914 births 2006 deaths Austrian film actresses Austrian musical theatre actresses Austrian operatic sopranos Musicians from Vienna Actresses from Vienna 20th-century Austrian actresses Austrian stage actresses Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class 20th-century Austrian women opera singers