Irene Eisinger (8 December 1903 – 8 April 1994) was a German and British opera singer and film actress. Her career was closely linked to the foundation and the early years of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

Life and career

Irene Eisinger was born in Cosel, Silesia, Germany (now Koźle, now in the district of

Kędzierzyn-Koźle Kędzierzyn-Koźle (german: Kandrzin-Cosel, szl, Kandrzin-Koźle) is a city in southern Poland, the administrative center of Kędzierzyn-Koźle County. With 58,899 inhabitants as of 2021, it is the second most-populous city in the Opole Voivodes ...

, Poland). She was trained as a soubrette soprano and studied acting with Paula Mark-Neusser in Vienna and piano with G. Schönewald.

Operas and films

Her debuts – both in opera and film – took place in 1926. She played a minor role in

Frederic Zelnik Frederic Zelnik (born Friedrich Zelnik, 17 May 1885 – 29 November 1950) was an Austrian producer, director, and actor. He was one of the most important producers-directors of the German silent cinema. Zelnik achieved success through period oper ...

's silent movie ''

Die Försterchristl Die Försterchristl (also ''Die Försterchristel'') is an operetta in three acts by Georg Jarno to a libretto by Bernhard Buchbinder. It premiered on 17 December 1907 at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna. Three years later, its English ver ...

'' and started singing leading roles in operas and operettas at the Stadttheater Basel in the north of Switzerland. In 1928 she was called to Berlin and within a short period became one of the favourite singers of conductor Otto Klemperer – first at the Kroll Opera House, later on at the prestigious Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Although best remembered for her

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 ...

roles in Mozart operas, especially Despina and Blonde, and as Ännchen in Weber's ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

'', she achieved also great successes and admiration in Strauss operetta roles, particularly as Arsena in ''

Der Zigeunerbaron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jok ...

'' and as Adele in '' Die Fledermaus''. Musicologist Elizabeth Forbes describes her singing: "Her voice, bright-toned, light and very flexible, and her charming, diminutive appearance, invariably drew adjectives such as 'enchanting' and 'winsome' from the critics." Elizabeth Forbes:
Obituary: Irene Eisinger
' in: ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (London), 30 April 1994. In 1930 came what can be considered her breakthrough in both Germany and Austria as she debuted as Adele in

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...

's version of '' Die Fledermaus'', as Cherubino in Mozart's '' Le nozze di Figaro'' at the

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 ...

and again as Adele at the Vienna State Opera. Furthermore, in this year her first sound film was released, the light comedy ''

Two Hearts in Waltz Time 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

'' – with Eisinger as Anni Lohmeier and with the popular actor Willi Forst in a leading role. This film was the first foreign language film to be released with subtitles in the United States. Two further leading film parts followed in 1931: Leopoldine in '' Die lustigen Weiber von Wien'' and the title role in another Zelnik-version of ''

'', now with sound and singing. Cherubino in Salzburg was hers until 1933, and in 1931 she added another role to her Salzburg repertory: Papagena in '' Die Zauberflöte'' – again with repeat invitations until 1933. In 1932, Eisinger performed in the Cabaret opera ''Rufen Sie Herrn Plim'' by

Mischa Spoliansky Mischa Spoliansky (28 December 1898 – 28 June 1985) was a Russian-born composer who made his name writing cabaret and revue songs in the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and early 1930s, before he was forced to emigrate to London in 1933 when Hi ...

Berthold Leimbach: ''Tondokumente der Kleinkunst und ihre Interpreten 1898-1945.'' Göttingen, Selbstverlag 1991, without page numbers. and sang Luise Matthes in the

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

opera ''

Die Bürgschaft "The Pledge" (German: "Die Bürgschaft", ) is a ballad published by the German poet Friedrich Schiller in his 1799 ''Musen-Almanach''. He took the idea out of the ancient legend of Damon and Pythias issuing from the Latin ''Fabulae'' by Gaius J ...

'' next to and

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is best ...

at the

Städtische Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

. The conductor was

Fritz Stiedry Fritz Stiedry (11 October 18838 August 1968) was an Austrian conductor and composer. Biography Fritz Stiedry was born in Vienna in 1883. While still a law student at the University of Vienna, Stiedry's talent for music was noticed by Gustav Mahl ...

. She appeared in two short films (''Kabarett-Programm Nr. 4'', 1931, and ''Eine Johann-Strauss-Fantasie'', 1933) and did several recordings with

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 o ...

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

/ Electrola, Ultraphon and Orchestrola. Her singing covered a broad repertory spanning from Mozart and Auber to C. M. Weber, Albert Lortzing,

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

, Lehár and Strauss, including works of Leo Fall, Bruno Granichstaedten,

Ralph Benatzky Ralph Benatzky (5 June 1884 – 16 October 1957), born in Mährisch Budwitz (Moravské Budějovice) as Rudolph Franz rantišekJosef Benatzky, was an Austrian composer of Moravian origin. He composed operas and operettas, such as ''Casanova'' ( ...

and Robert Stolz. Her male partners in duets were

Siegfried Arno Sig Arno (born Siegfried Aron, 27 December 1895 – 17 August 1975) was a German-Jewish film actor who appeared in such films as ''Pardon My Sarong'' and ''The Mummy's Hand''. He may be best remembered from ''The Palm Beach Story'' (1942) as Toto ...

, Paul Morgan,

Joseph Schmidt Joseph Schmidt (4 March 1904 – 16 November 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian and Romanian Jewish tenor and actor. Life and career Schmidt was born in Davideny (Ukrainian: '' Davydivka'') village in the Storozhynets district of the Bukovina ...

, Erik Wirl and Richard Fritz Wolf.

Emigrantion, Glyndebourne, ROH

Although very popular with the Berlin audience, Eisinger was forced to leave Germany because of her Jewish origins shortly after the ''

Machtergreifung 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 ...

'' by the Nazi party in 1933. She could not sing any longer in any theatre of the German capital. She took refuge in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and went to sing in the opera houses of Prague, Amsterdam and Bruxelles – and once again at the

. In 1933, in addition to Cherubino and Papagena she was invited to sing a role in a

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

opera. It was to be her last appearance in Salzburg. She sang Hermione in the first production of the second version of '' Die ägyptische Helena''. Eisinger continued to sing at

Prague State Opera The State Opera (Czech: Státní opera) is an opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is part of the National Theatre of the Czech Republic, founded by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1992. The theatre itself originally opened in ...

until 1937, but already in 1934 she was invited by German emigrants

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...

and Carl Ebert to participate at the first Glyndebourne Festival. Unknown to British audiences, she sang Despina in Mozart's ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'' and scored a great personal success. Thereafter she became a firm favourite at the festival, debuting as Blonde in '' Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' and as Papagena in '' Die Zauberflöte'' in 1935, returning there each year but one, until the outbreak of the Second World War forced the festival to close down. The 1935 Glyndebourne recording of ''

'', conducted by Fritz Busch, gives an idea of Eisinger's voice, her stylish singing and her delightful personality. Although she did not appear at the Festival in 1936, the artist sang the ''Aquarellen waltz'', op. 258, by Josef Strauss at a concert in Glyndebourne this year – with 600 of John Christie's employees and tenants present, to commemorate the birth of Christie's son George on 31 December 1934. Due to its success, the concert had to be repeated. In 1936 the impresario

C. B. Cochran Sir Charles Blake Cochran (25 September 1872 31 January 1951), generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager and impresario. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 193 ...

, who had been entranced by her Papagena in Glyndebourne, engaged her for the revue ''Follow the Sun'' at the Adelphi in London. There she sang the always much applauded song ''Love is a Dancing Thing'', a popular number by

Howard Dietz Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz. Biography Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia Colle ...

and Arthur Schwartz. Cochran was praised to engage Miss Eisinger by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'': ″A beautiful little lady

ith a The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediat ...

small but charming voice″. Her partner was the baritone Gerald Nodin. In December of the same year, Eisinger debuted at the

Royal Opera House 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 Op ...

as Gretel in Humperdincks ''

Hänsel und Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales, ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little ...

'', with

Maggie Teyte Dame Maggie Teyte (born Margaret Tate; 17 April 188826 May 1976) was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song. Early years Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a succ ...

as Hänsel, sung in German language. A week later she sang Adele in '' Die Fledermaus'' (in English), "winning a particular triumph" with the song ''Mein Herr Marquis''. For the next three seasons, Eisinger returned to Glyndebourne, where she added Susanna and Barbarina in '' Le nozze di Figaro'' to her Glyndebourne repertory while still continuing to sing her other roles. By now she was permanently living in England. In 1939 Eisinger sang Ilya in a university production of Mozart's '' Idomeneo'' at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and acted in Beatrice Saxon Snell's musical ''Georgian Springtime'' at the Embassy Theatre in London – with Geoffrey Dunn,

Frederick Ranalow Frederick Ranalow (7 November 18738 December 1953) was an Irish baritone who was distinguished in opera, oratorio, and musical theatre, but whose name is now principally associated with the role of Captain Macheath in the ballad opera ''The Begga ...

, and

George Skillan William George Skillan (3 October 1893 in Woodford, London, England – March 1975 in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England) was a British stage, television and film actor. Selected filmography Film * ''The Merchant of Venice'' (1916) * '' Dr ...

in the cast. In 1940, when Glyndebourne toured '' The Beggar's Opera'', she took over Polly Peachum from Audrey Mildmay who had contracted

Rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

during the London run. Furthermore, she participated in the movie comedy '' Young Man's Fancy'' and was invited by BBC to sing in ''Die Fledermaus'' and in '' Arlecchino'', a single act opera by

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

.vgl. Aufstellung von Alan Robinson be
musicweb-international.com
/ref> When Glyndebourne closed down, Eisinger withdrew from the stage. Her last operatic performances were a series of seven performances of ''

'' in the original Glyndebourne production of Carl Ebert at the Edinburgh International Festival in August and September 1949 – together with a prominent cast consisting of

Suzanne Danco Suzanne Danco (22 January 191110 August 2000), was a Belgian international soprano whose career encompassed the opera stages of Europe from Mozart to 20th century roles, recitals, recordings of opera and songs, and later teaching.Shawe-Taylor, D ...

(Fiordiligi),

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(Dorabella),

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(Ferrando),

Marko Rothmüller Marko Rothmüller (born Aaron Rothmüller; 31 December 190820 January 1993) was a Croatian operatic baritone, composer and pianist. Early life and education Rothmüller was born in the village of Trnjani near Slavonski Brod to a Jewish family, w ...

(Guglielmo), John Brownlee (Don Alfonso) and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

conducted by

Hans Oppenheim Hans Oppenheim (Berlin, 25 April 1892 - Edinburgh, 19 August 1965) was a German-born conductor. He was son of the Jewish German neurologist Hermann Oppenheim. Oppenheim emigrated to England and was first assistant to Fritz Busch at Glyndebourne Ope ...

. She sang Despina. Thereafter she was heard only in broadcast concerts on BBC.

Private life

Eisinger married Gerhard Schönewald, called Gert, a physician from London of German origin who had emigrated from Bad Nauheim. The couple had two daughters, Susanne (born in 1944) and Emily-Ruth (1946). The couple later divorced. Eisinger died on 8 April 1994, in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, Great Britain.

Recording

* ''

'' (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), role of Despina. Glyndebourne Festival Opera Company conducted by

. HMV DB 2652 bis DB 2673 – Glyndebourne, June 1935

Filmography

Sources

* Elizabeth Forbes
''Obituary: Irene Eisinger.''
In: ''

'', 30 April 1994. * Josef Kaut: '' Die Salzburger Festspiele 1920–1981'', Mit einem Verzeichnis der aufgeführten Werke und der Künstler des Theaters und der Musik von Hans Jaklitsch, Salzburg: Residenz Verlag 1982, , pp. 258, 261, 265, 268 and 269. *

Jürgen Kesting Jürgen Kesting (born 26 July 1940) is a German journalist, music critic and author. Life and career Born in Duisburg, Kesting studied German and English culture as well as philosophy in Cologne and Vienna from 1960 to 1967. After four years as ...

: ''Die großen Sänger.'' Volume 2. Verlag Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2008, p. 700.

References

External links

*
Opera Vivra
short biography of Irene Eisinger (with a portrait)
Vocal Classics
portrait of Irene Eisinger * , a song by Robert Stolz, recorded by Irene Eisinger in the 1930s {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisinger, Irene 1903 births 1994 deaths German operatic sopranos British sopranos 20th-century British women opera singers People from Kędzierzyn-Koźle County Jewish opera singers 20th-century German women opera singers