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Born: September 2, 1888 - Nagyvarád, Hungary
Died: August 14, 1953 - Farmington, Connecticut, USA |
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The renowned Hungarian-American bass-baritone, Friedrich Schorr, intended to become a lawyer. His father was a renowned Jewish cantor who had a first-class baritone voice himself. His son Friedrich had a beautiful voice and studied singing at Brno with Adolf Robinson, the teacher of Leo Slezak.
Robinson recommended the young bass-baritone to the management of the Chicago Opera and, during his vacation, he had the opportunity to appear in small roles. He made his debut at Graz as Wotan in Walküre! His success was great and Schorr was immediately offered a four-year contract. He remained there until 1916. His fame as a Wagner singer spread rapidly. From 1916 until 1923 he appeared at the opera houses of Prague and Cologne and became a guest star of the Berlin Staatsoper, Covent Garden and Bayreuth. He also sang roles like Amonasro, Escamillo, Barak, Borromeo, Dr. Faust (Busoni), Scarpia, Michele and Pizarro. The main part of his career, however, he spent in the USA. Impresario Gatti-Casazza heard him as Hans Sachs and engaged him in 1923. Friedrich Schorr appeared at the Met until 1943 and made guest appearances all over the world. In March 1943 he gave his farewell performance at the Met in Siegfried. He continued to appear in concerts and became director of Manhattan School of Music in New York. He also directed productions at the City Centre Opera in New York. He was also a very successful vocal coach. |
