Helge Rosvaenge

Helge Rosvaenge (born Helge Anton Rosenvinge Hansen, August 29, 1897  June 17, 1972) was a Danish-born operatic tenor whose career was centred on Germany and Austria, before, during and after World War II. His last name is sometimes spelled Roswaenge or Rosvænge.

Rosvaenge was born in Copenhagen. However, his life was spent in Germany, and he made his debut at Neustrelitz as Don Jose in Carmen in 1921. Engagements followed at Altenburg, Basel, Cologne (1927–30) and the Berlin State Opera, where he was leading tenor from 1930 to 1944, being especially distinguished in the Italian repertory. He also sang regularly at the Vienna State Opera from 1936, and in Munich. Rosvaenge also appeared at the Salzburg Festival, making his debut there in Der Rosenkavalier. Other roles which he performed at Salzburg between 1933 and 1939 were Tamino in The Magic Flute, Huon in Oberon and Florestan in Fidelio. His London debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, occurred in 1938, as Florestan.

He sang Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival in 1934 and 1936, but otherwise the Wagnerian repertory was mostly on recordings.

He also appeared in films, such as Verlieb' dich nicht am Bodensee (1935) and Last Rose (1936).[1]

After World War II, Rosvaenge divided his time between Berlin and Vienna. He continued to sing until May 30, 1959 (when he gave what was billed as his farewell concert at Vienna's Great Musikvereinssaal), singing arias from Turandot as Calàf, Aida as Radamès and Il trovatore as Manrico. His voice showed little sign of age; it was still warm and sonorous throughout its range, and brilliant and lustrous in its upper register. Indeed, he could produce an easy and full-blooded high D during his vocal prime. This can be heard in one of his most celebrated recordings, the Postillon's Song ("Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire") from Le postillon de Lonjumeau by Adolphe Adam.

Rosvaenge appeared in a wide spectrum of roles ranging from Mozart to Weber, from Verdi to Puccini. He sang with "a steely voice, brilliant high notes and insistent declamation throughout its scale" which was "brilliant and lustrous in its top register", according to Luiz Eduardo Goncalves Gabarra. He was equally impressive as Andrea Chénier and was also an acclaimed and exciting Radamès and Otello, in which latter role he was often heard on German radio.

He toured the US before retiring, and died in Munich at 74.

Repertoire

Repertorio operistico
Ruolo Titolo Autore
ChapelouLe postillon de LonjumeauAdam
Fra Diavolo
Lorenzo
Fra DiavoloAuber
FlorestanFidelioBeethoven
ÉnéeLes TroyensBerlioz
Don JoséCarmenBizet
Georges BrownLa dame blancheBoieldieu
Vladimir IgorevichPrince IgorBorodin
Don ManuelDon GilBraunfels
JulienLouiseCharpentier
NureddinDer Barbier von BagdadCornelius
NandoTieflandd'Albert
ShepherdDie toten Augend'Albert
PelléasPelléas et MélisandeDebussy
NemorinoL'elisir d'amoreDonizetti
TonioLa fille du régimentDonizetti
LionelMarthaFlotow
Don MartinDon GilFutterer
Andrea ChénierAndrea ChénierGiordano
Count Loris IpanovFedoraGiordano
Bogdan SobininA Life for the TsarGlinka
AliLa rencontre imprévueGluck
AdmetoAlcesteGluck
Baron von KayserlingAdrienneGoetze
FaustFaustGounod
Prince LéopoldLa JuiveHalévy
The courtierCardillacHindemith
ŠtevaJenůfaJanáček
FelixRendez-vous um MitternachtKattnigg
HeinDer FremdeKaun
Primus ThallerDer KuhreigenKienzl
Italian tenorYolimbaKillmayer
GeorgSpuk im SchlossKřička
SchrenkDie große SünderinKünneke
Prince Sou-ChongThe Land of SmilesLehár
CanioPagliacciLeoncavallo
Marquis de ChateauneufZar und ZimmermannLortzing
KronthalDer WildschützLortzing
SylvainLes dragons de VillarsMaillart
TuridduCavalleria rusticanaMascagni
Raoul de NangisLes HuguenotsMeyerbeer
Vasco de GamaL'AfricaineMeyerbeer
Symon RymanowiczDer BettelstudentMillöcker
BastienBastien und BastienneMozart
Contino BelfioreLa finta giardinieraMozart
IdomeneoIdomeneoMozart
BelmonteDie Entführung aus dem SerailMozart
KappelmeisterDer SchauspieldirektorMozart
Don OttavioDon GiovanniMozart
FerrandoCosì fan tutteMozart
TaminoThe Magic FluteMozart
FentonThe Merry Wives of WindsorNicolai
OrphéeOrpheus in the UnderworldOffenbach
PârisLa belle HélèneOffenbach
FalsacappaLes brigandsOffenbach
HoffmannLes contes d'HoffmannOffenbach
AbdisuPalestrinaPfitzner
Chevalier Renato des GrieuxManon LescautPuccini
RodolfoLa bohèmePuccini
Mario CavaradossiToscaPuccini
Dick JohnsonLa fanciulla del WestPuccini
B. F. PinkertonMadama ButterflyPuccini
Pang
Calaf
TurandotPuccini
Count AlmavivaThe Barber of SevilleRossini
Arnold MelchtalWilliam TellRossini
FedjaIwan TarassenkoSalmhofer
AstolfDie WeiberverschwörungSchubert
AlfredDie FledermausJ. Strauss II
GuidoEine Nacht in VenedigJ. Strauss II
Sándor Barinkay
Conte Carnero
The Gypsy BaronJ. Strauss II
SuleimanTausendundeine NachtJ. Strauss II
An Italian singerDer RosenkavalierStrauss
The tenor (Bacchus)Ariadne auf NaxosStrauss
The Apparition of a YouthDie Frau ohne SchattenStrauss
Da-UdDie ägyptische HelenaStrauss
MatteoArabellaStrauss
Wilhelm MeisterMignonThomas
Duke of MantuaRigolettoVerdi
ManricoIl trovatoreVerdi
Alfredo GermontLa traviataVerdi
ArrigoI vespri sicilianiVerdi
Gabriele AdornoSimon BoccanegraVerdi
GustavoUn ballo in mascheraVerdi
Don AlvaroLa forza del destinoVerdi
Don CarloDon CarloVerdi
RadamesAidaVerdi
OtelloOtelloVerdi
Walther von der VogelweideTannhäuserWagner
A young sailorTristan und IsoldeWagner
Balthasar Zorn
Kunz Vogelgesang
Die Meistersinger von NürnbergWagner
FrohDas RheingoldWagner
ParsifalParsifalWagner
Abu HassanAbu HassanWeber
MaxDer FreischützWeber
Oberon
Hüon
OberonWeber
HaraldDie KönigsballadeWille
RoderickThe Mine ForemanZeller

Recordings

Rosvaenge was a prolific recording artist starting as early as 1927, first for the Gramophone Company (now EMI) and later on the Telefunken, Parlophone and Odeon labels. Many of these recordings have been reissued on CD. The finest of them were made in the 1930s and early 1940s.

A recording of his solo tenor singing in a 1938 performance of Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini has been released on CD as well.[2]

References

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