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Hermann Horner

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Hermann Horner

Hermann Horner (30 January 1892 – probably in 1942) was an Austrian-Hungarian operatic bass-baritone. He performed on numerous stages in Germany and Czechoslovakia and was a guest at the Bayreuth Festival. He was murdered by the Nazis.

Life and career

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Horner was born as the son of a hotel owner in Rzeszów.[1] From 1916 to 1918 he served as a non-commissioned officer in the Austrian army in Montenegro and Albania.[1]

Horner completed his vocal studies in Belgium and made his debut at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp.[2] From 1919 to 1923 he was engaged at the City Theatre of Lemberg.[1] This was followed by positions at the Wrocław Opera (1923/24), the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (1924/25), at the Prague State Opera (1925–27), at the Staatstheater Stuttgart (1927–29) and the Staatstheater Nürnberg (1929–33).[2] In Stuttgart, Horner also worked as a singing teacher. One of his students was Gottlob Frick.[3] In 1928 he sang the role of Titurel in Parsifal.

The day of the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses, two months after the seizure of power by the National Socialists in 1933, the singer was informed that he was no longer allowed to perform with immediate effect.[4] He was suspended from duty with immediate effect. He first went back to Rzeszów and then to Czechoslovakia, where he was engaged for two years (1933–35) at the municipal theatre of Aussig.

Horner was married to Anna, née Koller, who was born in Lwiw in 1892.[5][6] The couple had at least three children, all born in Stuttgart: Mario (born 1925 or 1926),[7][8] Eva (also Ewa, born 1930)[9][10] and Ludwig (also Ludvik, born in 1931 or 1932).[11][12]

The whole family was murdered. According to Danny Newman, an in-laws relative, Horner was shot along with his younger son while trying to protect his son from the Nazis who murdered the other family members in a gas truck.[13]

Horner died in the Ghetto Reichshof or in the Belzec extermination camp.[14][15]

Repertoire

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The list of roles was created based on Kutsch/Riemens and the Vox recording book.

Beethoven:

Flotow:

Halévy:

Mozart:

Nicolai:

Offenbach:

Pfitzner:

  • Herzog in Das Herz
  

Smetana:

Verdi:

Weber:

Wagner:

Wolf-Ferrari:

Recording

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Horner's voice has been handed down through vox recordings from 1923, he sang arias of the Landgrave and King Henry (from Tannhäuser and Lohengrin), as well as the Porterlied of Plumkett from the opera Martha and the Trinklied of Falstaff from the opera The Merry Wives of Windsor.[17]

Memorial

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His name can be found on a commemorative plaque for Nazi victims in the Staatstheater Stuttgart, which was unveiled on April 7, 2016 by Minister Theresia Bauer together with the director of the Staatstheater.[18]

Further reading

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  • Hannes Heer: Verstummte Stimmen [de] Die Vertreibung der "Juden" aus der Oper 1933 bis 1945. Der Kampf um das Württembergische Landestheater Stuttgart. Eine Ausstellung. Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86331-303-6, p. 111.
  • Karl-Josef Kutsch, Leo Riemens: Großes Sängerlexikon. Fourth, extended and updated edition. K. G. Saur, Munich 2003, volume 4, p. 2145.
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References

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  1. ^ a b c Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg: Horner, Hermann Bild 3, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  2. ^ a b Karl-Josef Kutsch, Leo Riemens: Großes Sängerlexikon, volume 4, p. 2145, 4th expanded and updated edition, Munich 2003
  3. ^ Klaus Günther: Der Sängerfürst: Gottlob Frick und seine Zeit, p. 23, Stieglitz-Verlag 2007, ISBN 3-7987-0391-4
  4. ^ Verfolgung jüdischer Künstler in Stuttgart: Tatort "Württembergisches Staatstheater", from Ingrid Bauz, Sigrid Brüggemann, Roland Maier: "You don't need to come anymore!" The ousting of artists of Jewish faith and Jewish descent from Stuttgart's theatre and musical life by the National Socialists, 76 pages, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  5. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: ANNA KHANA HORNER, Gedenkblatt erstellt von Sofia Rachkovski, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  6. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: ANNA HORNER, beruhend auf dem GEDENKBUCH Opfer der Verfolgung der Juden unter der nationalsozialistischen Gewaltherrschaft in Deutschland 1933-1945, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  7. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: MARIO HORNER, beruhend auf dem GEDENKBUCH Opfer der Verfolgung der Juden unter der nationalsozialistischen Gewaltherrschaft in Deutschland 1933-1945, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  8. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: MARIO HORNER, Gedenkblatt erstellt von Sofia Rachkovski, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  9. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: EVA HORNER, beruhend auf dem GEDENKBUCH Opfer der Verfolgung der Juden unter der nationalsozialistischen Gewaltherrschaft in Deutschland 1933-1945, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  10. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: EWA HORNER, Gedenkblatt erstellt von Sofia Rachkovski, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  11. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: LUDWIG HORNER, beruhend auf dem GEDENKBUCH Opfer der Verfolgung der Juden unter der nationalsozialistischen Gewaltherrschaft in Deutschland 1933-1945, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  12. ^ The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: LUDVIK HORNER, Gedenkblatt erstellt von Sofia Rachkovski, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  13. ^ :Danny Newman: Tales of a Theatrical Guru, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  14. ^ Deutscher Musikrat: Neue Wandtafel „Verstummte Stimmen“ im Opernhaus Stuttgart erinnert an Opfer des Nationalsozialismus, retrieved on 2 January 2020.
  15. ^ Universität Hamburg: Horner, Hermann, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  16. ^ Musik in Baden-Württemberg, Jahrbuch 2001, p. 46
  17. ^ Rainer E. Lotz: Vox Aufnahmebuch, retrieved on 2 January 2020
  18. ^ Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg [de]: Gedenktafel für NS-Opfer im Staatstheater Stuttgart enthüllt Archived 2019-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved on 2 January 2020
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