Gretl Schörg (17 January 1914 – 4 January 2006) was an Austrian

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and actress. She was particularly known for her performances in

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s. Her signature roles included Dodo in '' Wedding Night in Paradise'', Josepha Vogelhuber in ''

The White Horse Inn The White Horse Inn (German: ''Im weißen Rößl'') or White Horse Inn may refer to: *The White Horse Inn (play), ''The White Horse Inn'' (play), a 1897 play by Oscar Blumenthal and Gustav Kadelburg *The White Horse Inn (operetta), ''The White Hors ...

'', Juliette in '' Der Graf von Luxemburg'', Julischka in '' Maske in Blau'', Laura in '' Der Bettelstudent'', and Pepi in '' Wiener Blut''. She made several operetta recordings for

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, and

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. She was also active as a dramatic actress on the stage and in films. In April 2004 she was awarded the

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

Life and career

Born in Vienna, Schörg first trained for the profession of typist. In 1937, at the age of 23, she won a beauty contest and became "Queen of Danube". That same year she made her stage debut in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre in the world premiere of

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901 – 1 June 1938) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the ''nom de plume'' Ödön von Horváth (). He was one of the most critically admired writers of his g ...

's play ''Der jüngste Tag''. She spent the next two years performing at that theatre, and at theatres in

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

, Marienbad, and Vienna (

Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...

). In 1939 she joined the

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

in Aussig (now Usti nad Labem) where she became popular as a performer in

s. She made her professional opera debut at that house as Hannerl in Heinrich Berté's arrangement of

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's ''

Das Dreimäderlhaus ''Das Dreimäderlhaus'' (''House of the Three Girls''), adapted into English-language versions as ''Blossom Time'' and ''Lilac Time'', is a Viennese pastiche operetta with music by Franz Schubert, rearranged by Heinrich Berté (1857–1924), and ...

''. In 1940 Schörg went to the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...

where she was admired in the

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

and operetta repertoire during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. With that company she sang in the world premieres of Ludwig Schmidseder's '' Frauen im Metropol'' (1940, Fritzi) and

Friedrich Schröder Friedrich Schröder (6 August 1910 – 25 September 1972) was a Swiss composer of what could be referred to as light music. Career Born in Näfels, Switzerland, Schröder studied music in Stuttgart, Münster, and Berlin. Already in those ea ...

's ''Friedrich Schröder'' (1941). She also spent those years performing in small film roles. After the war, Schörg was active in operettas at the Admiralspalast theatre and the Theater am Nollendorfplatz in Berlin. She also began appearing in more prominent roles in films, often in partnership with

Johannes Heesters Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch-German actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the conce ...

and

Romy Schneider Rosemarie Magdalena Albach (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982), known professionally as Romy Schneider (), was a German and French actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time and became a cult figure due to ...

. In the first half of the 1950s she performed in many operetta productions of the WDR Cologne with Franz Marszalek. She was then active with the

Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

, the Vienna Chamber Opera, and the

Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (; State Theatre at ), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) Designed by , ...

in Munich. She was also heard frequently in operetta broadcasts on German and Austrian radio stations during the 1950s. In the 1960s, Schörg returned to her work as a dramatic actress at the Berliner Boulevardbühnen and Düsseldorfer Boulevardbühnen. For health reasons, she restricted her professional activities during the last decade of her career, which she ended in the early 1970s. She lived in retirement in Vienna, where she died in 2006. She was buried in the Hernalser Cemetery (Group E, No. 129). At the Vienna cemetery administration but is listed as '' Margaret Pfreimer''.

Selected filmography

* '' Kollege kommt gleich'' (1943) – Karin, Roberts Schwester * '' Herr Sanders lebt gefährlich'' (1944) – Colette Francis, Revuestar * ''Der Mann, dem man den Namen stahl'' (1944) – Madame Marlen, Singer * '' Intimitäten'' (1948) – Erika, Singer * '' The Heavenly Waltz'' (1948) – Lillian Lord * '' Märchen vom Glück'' (1949) – Violetta Valona * ''

One Night Apart ''One Night Apart'' () is a 1950 West German period comedy film directed by Hans Deppe and starring Kurt Seifert, Olga Chekhova and Sonja Ziemann.Höfig p. 95 It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were designed by th ...

'' (1950) – Musette, Sängerin * '' This Man Belongs to Me'' (1950) – Rita Andersen * '' Verlobte Leute'' (1950) – Hanna Döring, die Journalistin * '' The Black Forest Girl'' (1950) – Malwine Heinau – ein Revuestar * '' Wedding Night in Paradise'' (1950) – Rosita Pareira * ''Gruß und Kuß aus der Wachau'' (1950) – Miss Violet Hutton from California * '' Woe to Him Who Loves'' (1951) – Adrienne Dymo / Juliane Dymo * '' The Blue Star of the South'' (1951) – Yella * '' Season in Salzburg'' (1952) – Therese Stolzinger * '' Die Fiakermilli'' (1953) – Fiakermilli * ''

Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

'' (1953) – Eva * '' Secretly Still and Quiet'' (1953) – Carola Werner * '' Grandstand for General Staff'' (1953) – Frau v. Lamasy * '' If I Only Have Your Love'' (1953) – Sophie Strasser * '' The Spanish Fly'' (1955) – Miss Hilton * ''

Bel Ami ''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ''Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel'' first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist ...

'' (1955) – Clothilde de Marelle * '' Die Deutschmeister'' (1955) – Hansi Führer * '' His Daughter is Called Peter'' (1955) – Nora Christian * '' I'll See You at Lake Constance'' (1956) – Marianne * '' Imperial and Royal Field Marshal'' (1956) – Mizzi Elster, Soubrette * '' My Ninety Nine Brides'' (1958) * '' Arena of Fear'' (1959) – Olga, Sekreträrin * '' Jacqueline'' (1959) – Frau Burg * '' Vor Jungfrauen wird gewarnt'' (1961) – Frau Walztigel * ''Im schwarzen Rössl'' (1961) – Wirtin des Weißen Rößl * '' Street of Temptation'' (1962) – Rita * ''Ganovenehre'' (1966) – Red Erna * ''Wiener Schnitzel'' (1967) * ''Donnerwetter! Donnerwetter! Bonifatius Kiesewetter'' (1969) – Baronin Ziegler * ' (1970) – Mathilde Weber * ''Immer die verflixten Weiber'' (1971) – Apothekerin * '' The Mad Aunts Strike Out'' (1971) – Irene Wiedemann * ''

Love Is Only a Word ''Love Is Only a Word'' () is a 1971 West German drama film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Judy Winter, Herbert Fleischmann and Malte Thorsten. Plot 21-year-old Oliver Mansfeld, the son of a corrupt industrialist, is attending a boarding s ...

'' (1971) – Pflegerin * ' (1972) – Heimleiterin Frau Zumbusch * '' My Daughter, Your Daughter'' (1972) – Schuldirektorin Regina Körner * ''Change'' (1975) – Frau Schirnberg

Literature

Klaus Rittweger Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus * Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American base ...

: Gretl Schörg. Mein Theaterleben. Wagner, Gelnhausen 2004,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schorg, Gretl 1914 births 2006 deaths Austrian film actresses Austrian musical theatre actresses Austrian operatic sopranos Singers from Vienna Actresses from Vienna 20th-century Austrian actresses Austrian stage actresses Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class 20th-century Austrian women opera singers