Rudolf Bibl (4 May 1929
– 27 January 2017) was an Austrian conductor and pianist.
Life
Born in Vienna, parallel to attending a
Gymnasium, Bibl studied piano, clarinet, composition at the
Wiener Musikakademie
The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817.
With a student body of over three thousa ...
and attended the conducting class of
Hans Swarowsky
Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975,) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth.
Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiřà Vysloužil, ...
. From 1948, he was
répétiteur at the
Graz Opera. From 1960, he worked at the Vienna
Raimundtheater
The Raimund Theater is a theatre in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, Austria.
Named after the Austrian dramatist Ferdinand Raimund, the theatre was built by an association of Viennese citizens and opened on 28 November 1893 with Raimund's play ...
and the
Theater an der Wien. From 1969 to 1973, he was
music director
A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...
in
Trier, from where he gave guest performances in France and Luxembourg.
From 1973, he was conductor at the
Volksoper Wien, where he conducted over 2,200 performances, including ''
Der Vogelhändler
' (''The Bird Seller'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Zeller with a libretto by and based on Victor Varin's and de Biéville's ' (1857). In 1891, Helen Tretbar translated the original German libretto into English and adapted it for perfo ...
'', ''
Die lustige Witwe
''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...
'', ''
Die Csárdásfürstin
' (''The Csárdás Princess''; translated into English as ''The Riviera Girl'' and ''The Gipsy Princess'') is an operetta in 3 acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with libretto by Leo Stein and Bela Jenbach. It premiered in Vienna at the ...
'' and ''
Die Fledermaus''. From 1995 to 2008, he was musical director of the
Seefestspiele Mörbisch
The Seefestspiele Mörbisch, originally: Seespiele Mörbisch, is an annual operetta festival in Mörbisch am See (Austria). With around 150,000 visitors, the Mörbisch Lake Festival is the world's largest festival of the operetta genre. In additi ...
, for which he put together his own orchestra, the ''Symphonieorchester Burgenland'', consisting of students from the .
Guest performances and concert tours abroad took him to Japan, Italy, Germany and France, for example, to the
Berlin State Opera and the
Opéra Bastille in Paris.
[''Prof. Rudolf Bibl: Professor Rudolf Bibl deceased''](_blank)
Volksoper Wien, retrieved 25 July 2021[Elena Habermann]
''Vienna/Volksoper: Die Fledermaus - Festvorstellung zum 85. Geburtstag von Professor Rudolf Bibl''
Der neue Merker, 14 May 2014, retrieved 25 July 2021. At the
Vienna State Opera, he conducted ''Die Fledermaus'' and ''Die lustige Witwe'' from 1999 to 2003.
Bibl remained closely associated with the Vienna Volksoper until the end. In May 2016, he conducted three performances of Kálmán's ''
Die Csárdásfürstin
' (''The Csárdás Princess''; translated into English as ''The Riviera Girl'' and ''The Gipsy Princess'') is an operetta in 3 acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with libretto by Leo Stein and Bela Jenbach. It premiered in Vienna at the ...
'' as part of a guest performance in Tokyo, his last conducting was a performance of ''
Die Fledermaus'' on 1 January 2017. According to the house, he conducted 2273 performances at the Vienna Volksoper.
Bibl died at the age of 87, in
Frontignan, France.
Bibl was the grandson of the
composer and organist of the same name (1832–1902) and nephew of the historian
Viktor Bibl
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
.
Awards
* 1988:
Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst I. Klasse.
[''Liste der Träger des Ehrenzeichens für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich''](_blank)
(PDF) retrieved 25 July 2021.
* 1991: Honorary member of the
Wiener Volksoper.
* 1999:
Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria.
* 2004: Great .
''Ehrenzeichen für Rudolf Bibl und Rolf Langenfass''.
In ' im Österreich Journal, 29 September 2004; retrieved 25 July 2021
* 2013: Honorary member of the Seefestspiele Mörbisch
The Seefestspiele Mörbisch, originally: Seespiele Mörbisch, is an annual operetta festival in Mörbisch am See (Austria). With around 150,000 visitors, the Mörbisch Lake Festival is the world's largest festival of the operetta genre. In additi ...
.[''Rudolf Bibl erstes Ehrenmitglied von Mörbisch''.](_blank)
'' Kleine Zeitung'', 12 July 2013; retrieved 25 July 2021.
* Presentation of the .
References
Further reading
* Elisabeth Th. Hilscher-Fritz
Bibl, Familie
In '' Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon. Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ; Print edition: Vol 1, Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften press, Vienna 2002, .
External links
*
*
*
*
Rudolf Bibl
on Operabase
Nachruf auf Rudolf Bibl
Volksoper Wien
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibl, Rudolf
Austrian conductors (music)
Austrian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
1929 births
2017 deaths
Musicians from Vienna