August Kindermann Explained

August Kindermann (6 February 1817 – 6 March 1891) was a German bass-baritone singer and regisseur, particularly noted for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner.

He was born in Potsdam. He began his career singing in the chorus of the Berlin State Opera in 1836 and made his solo debut there in 1837 in a small role in Spontini's Agnes von Hohenstaufen. He went on to sing bass and baritone roles with Leipzig Opera from 1839 to 1846. While at Leipzig, he became a friend of Albert Lortzing and sang in the premieres of two of his operas: the title role in Hans Sachs ^[1] (1840) and Count von Eberbach in Der Wildschütz (1842). He also sang Gazna in the premiere of Robert Schumann's secular oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri (1843). In 1846, Kinderman moved to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich where he was a Kammersänger and stage director who enjoyed great popularity. In 1855, he directed the company's production of Wagner's Tannhäuser as well as singing the role of Wolfram. During his time in Munich he sang the role of Wotan in the premieres of both Das Rheingold (1869) and Die Walküre (1870) as well as Titurel in the premiere of Parsifal (1882). In addition to the Wagner premieres, Kindermann also sang Count Eckart in the premiere of Josef Rheinberger's opera Die sieben Raben ^[2] (1869).

August Kinderman's daughters, Franziska Kindermann, Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann, and Marie Kindermann also became opera singers. He died in Munich in 1891 at age 74.

Notes and references

• Carnegy, Patrick (2006) Wagner and the Art of the Theatre, Yale University Press, p. 41.
  • Meyerbeer, Giacomo (2002) Briefwechsel und Tagebücher, Vol. 5, edited and annotated by Sabine Henze-Döhring, Walter de Gruyter, .
• Meyerbeer, Giacomo (2002) The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer: The Years of Celebrity, 1850-1856, edited and annotated by Robert Ignatius Le Tellier, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, p. 164.
• Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J. (1979) "Kindermann, August" in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press. p. 258.

Notes and References

1. The opera is based on the life of German poet Hans Sachs. Its premiere performance in the Städtisches Hoftheater on 23 June 1840 was to mark the 400th anniversary of the invention of the printing press.
2. Die sieben Raben - opera in three acts by Josef Rheinberger, to a libretto by Franz Bonn and Franziska Jägerhuber Rheinberger based on the German fairy tale The Seven Ravens. Premiered 23 May 1869 in the Nationaltheater München.