Robert Burg (29 March 18909 February 1946), real name Robert Bartl, was a German baritone in opera, concert and recital. He belonged to the opera in Dresden for almost three decades, where he shaped the revival of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

operas. He performed in world premieres including the title roles of Busoni's ''

Doktor Faust ''Doktor Faust'' is an opera by Ferruccio Busoni with a German libretto by the composer, based on the myth of Faust. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time o ...

'' and Hindemith's ''

Cardillac ''Cardillac'', Op. 39, is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story ''Das Fräulein von Scuderi'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Performance history The first per ...

''. Burg also appeared regularly at the Bayreuth Festival and gave international guest performances.

Life

Robert Bartl was born in Prague as the son of a pianist. During his studies of mathematics there, he took singing lessons with the baritone Hans Pokorny. He was a member of the "Saxonia Prag" while he studied.Robert Burg
Sächsische Biographie He made his stage debut in Aussig in 1914 as Valentin in Gounod's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

''. In the 1915–16 season, he performed at the German Theatre in Prague and at the

Theater Augsburg The Staatstheater Augsburg is a theatre of Augsburg, Germany. Until 1999 it was called Städtische Bühnen Augsburg, from then until the end of August 2018 it was called ''Theater Augsburg''. It offers on four stages musical theatre, plays and bal ...

. He moved the following season to the Dresden court opera (later: ) in 1918, and remained there until it was closed during the Second World War in 1944. In the 1920s, Burg contributed to the

revival of

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 ...

at the house.Burg, Robert
Bayerisches Musiker Lexikon Online When he appeared in the title role of Mussorgsky's '' Boris Godunov'' in 1923, the opera was finally established in the repertoire of German opera houses. He performed in many world premieres at the house, notably in the title roles of Busoni's ''

'' in 1925 and Hindemith's ''

'' in 1926. He was awarded the title

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male) or Kammersängerin (female), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or ...

. Between 1933 and 1942, Burg appeared at the Bayreuth Festival, especially as Alberich in ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...

''. He gave guest performances in Berlin and Munich as well as in Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague, Vienna and Zürich, and also gave recitals in towns in Saxony. After the Second World War, Burg gave concerts in the destroyed Dresden and the surrounding area from July 1945. He died the evening before his 32nd stage anniversary, in his dressing room following a lieder recital in

Radebeul Radebeul ( hsb, Radobyle) is a town (''große Kreisstadt'') in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May, and a narrow gaug ...

at age 55.Robert Burg
Picture at the of the Goethe University Frankfurt Robert Burg als Escamillo.jpg, As Escamillo in '' Carmen'', 1916 Boris Godunow mit Robert Burg als Boris, Grete Merrem-Nikisch als Feodor.jpg, As Boris Godunov, with Grete Merrem-Nikisch as his son Feodor, 1923 Robert Burg als Falstaff.jpg, As

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 ...

, 1924 Cardillac, 1926. Scene II. Act with Robert Burg as Cardillac and Claire Born as his daughter.jpg, As

in 1926, with

Claire Born Claire Born (17 February 1898 – 18 December 1965) was a German operatic soprano. A long-term member of the Vienna State Opera and the Semperoper in Dresden, she appeared at leading international opera houses and festivals, in roles such as Don ...

as his daughter

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burg, Robert 1890 births 1946 deaths German operatic baritones Pseudonyms Musicians from Prague 20th-century German male opera singers

Life

References

Further reading

External links