Johann (Nepomuk) Aloys Miksch (19 July 1765 – 24 September 1845); sometimes spelled ''Mie(c)ksch'' or ''Johannes'') was a Bohemian singer, (tenor) and singing teacher.

Life

Born in St. Georgenthal in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, in 1777 Miksch became

boys' choir A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type. Members of a boys' choir are technically known as '' ...

of the Dresden court chapel, where he received lessons in singing as well as on the piano and organ. He received his first piano and singing lessons from his father, a cantor and organist in St. Georgenthal. Miksch also studied composition under the ''

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' Schuster and in 1783 found employment with the Catholic court church music as a

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 ...

. At the age of 20, he made his first appearance as an opera singer in Dresden. In 1786, he became a ceremonial singer at the

Katholische Hofkirche Dresden Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Dresden, previously the Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony, called in German Katholische Hofkirche and since 1980 also known as Kathedrale Sanctissimae Trinitatis, is the Catholi ...

. In 1797, he became tenor of the Italian Opera in Dresden. After he had become vocally ill due to incorrect voice training, he took singing lessons with the church singer and

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

Vincenzo Caselli. Inspired by him, he now devoted himself exclusively to the study of artistic singing and learned the method followed there under the guidance of Caselli, a pupil of the Bolognese school of

Antonio Bernacchi Antonio Maria Bernacchi (23 June 1685 – 1 March 1756) was an Italian castrato, composer, and teacher of singing. He studied with Francesco Antonio Pistocchi. His pupils included Farinelli, for a brief period during 1727, and the tenor Anton R ...

. In the years 1797-1801, he sang at the Italian Opera in Dresden and from 1801 was singing teacher of the Hofkapellknaben, where he was appointed instructor. In 1820, at the instigation of

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

, he became choral director of the Dresdner Hofoper under Weber, and in 1824 also

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the royal (private) music collection of King Friedrich August II. He retired in 1831. Diary entries by

Clara Wieck Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

, who received some singing lessons from Miksch in 1834, provide an interesting insight into his teaching methods. Stuttgart court pianist

Anna Sick Anna (or Anne) Laura Sick (born ''Mahir''; 10 July 1803 – 19 February 1895, Berlin?) was a German composer and pianist who served as the court pianist and Mistress of Piano to the court in Stuttgart. Sick was born on 10 July 1803, in Munich as A ...

also studied with him. Miksch has the merit of having preserved the traditions of older Italian art song in Germany. He also owes his high reputation as a singing teacher to numerous students, among them Johann Gottfried Bergmann, the later singing teacher Ferdinand Sieber and the singers

Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, born Wilhelmine Schröder (6 December 180426 January 1860), was a German operatic soprano. As a singer, she combined a rare quality of tone with dramatic intensity of expression, which was as remarkable on the conce ...

Agnese Schebest Agnese Schebest, ''née'' ''Agnese Šebesta'', also ''Agnese Schebesta'' (10 February 1813 – 22 December 1869) was an Austrian operatic mezzo-soprano. She lived as a singing teacher in Munich and Stuttgart. Life and career Schebest was born ...

, Friederike Funk and Henriette Grabau-Bünau. He was a member of the Dresden

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 ...

''Zu den drey Schwerdtern und wahren Freunden''. Miksch's brother, Adalbert Alexius Miksch (1776-1814), was a horn player in the Dresden court orchestra and married the opera singer Maria Camilla Angiolini (1789-1824). The soprano was engaged at the Dresden Court Opera from 1816 until her death. Mikschs died in Dresden at the age of 80.

References

External links

*
Miksch, Johann Alois
on BLKÖ
Miksch Johann Aloys
on Operissimo {{DEFAULTSORT:Miksch, Johann Aloys German tenors Voice teachers German Freemasons 1765 births 1845 deaths People from Děčín District

Life

Further reading

References

External links