Hans Lissmann, also ''Hans Lißmann'', (19 September 1885 – 26 May 1964) was a German operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is wide ...

Life

Born in

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

, Lissman was the son of the bass baritone Friedrich Heinrich Lissmann (1847–1894) and the soprano Anna Marie Lissmann-Gutzschbach (1847–1928). His sister Eva-Katharina Lissmann (1883–after 1917) was also a concert singer. Lißmann studied Ochestral conducting, among others with

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of B ...

at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig and at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden, and subsequently worked as a conductor at various German theatres. He received his vocal training with Raimund von Zur Mühlen in London and with

Ernesto Colli Ernesto Colli (16 May 1940 – 19 November 1982) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. Life and career Born in Biella, Colli graduated from liceo classico, then he started acting in some amateur dramatics and starred in two lost ...

in Milan. in 1913 he came back to Germany. After a short engagement at the Hamburg Volksoper he was first lyrical tenor at the Opera in Leipzig from 1914 until 1933. There, he sang more than 100 parts, e.g. in 1919 in the world premiere of the opera ''Revolutionshochzeit'' by Eugen d’Albert and in 1927 in the world premiere of the opera ''Clavigo'' by Max Ettinger. He gave successful guest performances, such as Fenton in Verdi's ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'' conducted by Arturo Toscanini in Roma, Belmonte in ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () ( K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's ''Belmont und Constanze, oder Di ...

'' under the direction of

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...

in London and at leading German theatres.

Max von Schillings Max von Schillings (April 19, 1868 – July 24, 1933 in Berlin) was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925. Schillings' opera ''Mona Lisa'' (1915) was internationall ...

chose him as the singer for the world premiere of his opera ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...

'' in Stuttgart. In September 1933, he gave his highly acclaimed farewell performance in Leipzig as ''Alfredo'' in La traviata. At the same time, Lissmann was a highly respected concert and lieder singer. In addition to his own concerts, he sang regularly in Leipzig under

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor a ...

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

the part of the ''Evangelist'' in the performances of Bach's '' St. Matthew Passion'' and ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

''. Besides Wolfgang Rosenthal (bass-baritone), Ilse Helling-Rosenthal (soprano) and Marta Adam (alto) he was a tenor in the Rosenthal Quartet. Lissmann was also active as a composer of songs and short operas as well as the opera ''Woe to him who lies!'' after

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...

's eponymous ' comedy. He was married to Erika Auenmüller (1908–1973) Lissmann was professor of singing at the Leipzig Conservatory between 1923 and 1954. Among his students were Reiner Süß and Rolf Apreck. Since 1921 Lissmann was a member of the Leipzig

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

"". He was married to Erika Auenmüller (1908–1973).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lissmann, Hans German operatic tenors German opera composers 20th-century classical composers Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig Voice teachers German Freemasons 1885 births 1964 deaths Singers from Hamburg 20th-century German male opera singers