Gustav Siehr as Hagen in Wagners Götterdämmerung, Bayreuth Festival 1876 (picture: Joseph Albert
)

Gustav Siehr (17 September 1837 – 18 May 1896) was a German Hofoper- and Kammersänger bass.

Life

A Letter from Richard Wagner to Gustav Siehr, 12 September 1876. Excerpt: A request and question. Would you like to see the "Wotan"?

Born in Arnsberg, Province of Westphalia, as the son of a senior government councillor, Siehr first studied medicine at University of Königsberg. In 1858, he became a member of the Corps Littuania.[1] As an inaktive, he moved to the University of Jena and the Humboldt University of Berlin. In Berlin, he decided to train his voice with Julius Krause and Heinrich Dorn. In 1863, he made his debut at the Landestheater Neustrelitz in Bellini's Norma. In 1864–65, he was at the Gothenburg German Opera House, in 1865–70 at the German Theatre Prague, in 1870–81 at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. In 1881, he went to the Bayerische Staatsoper, of which he remained a member until the end of his life. Siehr was considered a great interpreter of the operas of Richard Wagner. He sang repeatedly at the Bayreuth Festivals, roles such as Hagen in the world premiere of Götterdämmerung on 17 August 1876 at the first Festival, Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the 1882–84, 1886 and 1889 festivals, and as King Marke in the Bayreuth premiere cast of Tristan und Isolde at the 1886 Festival. He also sang Gurnemanz in the Privataufführungen for the Bavarian King Ludwig II of Bavaria at the National Theatre Munich. Wagner held the singer in high esteem.[2] He described his vocal delivery and art of characterisation as outstanding.

Siehr died in Munich at the age of 58.

References

  1. ↑ Kösener Korpslisten 1910, 139/103.
  2. ↑ Carl Friedrich Glasenapp: Das Leben Richard Wagners in 6 Büchern. Vol. 5. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1905, p. 265 (Music on Zeno).

Further reading

  • Ludwig Eisenberg: Grosses Biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Bühne. Paul List publisher, Leipzig 1903, pp. 967–968 (Gustav Siehr is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive).
  • Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John, eds. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) ‎
  • Hans-Michael Körner (ed.): Große Bayerische Biographische Enzyklopädie. Vol. 3 P–Z. Saur, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-598-11460-5, p. 1839 (eBook, retrieved on De Gruyter online).
  • Karl-Josef Kutsch, Leo Riemens: Großes Sängerlexikon. 4th, expanded and updated edition. Vol. 6: Rasa–Sutton. Saur, Munich 2003, ISBN 978-3-598-44088-5, pp. 4394–4395 (doi:10.1515/9783598440885, retrieved on De Gruyter online).
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