Gottlob Frick at the Bayreuth Festival
Gottlob Frick (1906-1994), by Wilhelm Furtwängler described as 'the blackest bass in Germany' had a distinct, easy recognizable voice dear to many Wagner lovers. His best Wagner roles, and by many considered close to ideal, was his Hunding, Hagen and Veit Pogner.
Gottlob Frick at Bayreuth
Gottlob Frick's Bayreuth career wasn't very long. He actually sang Veit Pogner only one year. It took three years until he returned as the villains Hunding and Hagen.
1957
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Veit Pogner)
1960
Die Walküre (Hunding)
Götterdämmerung (Hagen)
This was the new production by Wolfgang Wagner, conducted by Rudolf Kempe.
For this Ring Wolfgang used a large concave disc – in German the Scheibe – which was soon nicknamed the saucer. But it did not remain a platform. It was also symbolic of the story, starting as the placid bed of a pool in the Rhine, it was later split and segments of it set at different angles. Each scene used the Scheibe in a different form, often roofed by a companion disc in various broken sections. Strife and suffering mark the development of the saga, and this design depicted the tumult of passions and events in bold, jagged shapes, until at the very end when the Rhinemaidens have regained their golden talisman, when all passion is spent and peace heals the passing of gods and men, the great disc sank back into its first simplicity. Bare and smooth it lay, under a silvery blue light. Of all the Rings I have seen in many different operahouses this was by far the fines ending of Götterdämmerung.
Penelope Turing: New Bayreuth (p. 63)
1961
Die Walküre (Hunding)
Götterdämmerung (Hagen)
1962
Die Walküre (1962) Gottlob Frick (Hunding)
Götterdämmerung (1962) Gottlob Frick (Hagen)
1963
Die Walküre (Hunding)
Götterdämmerung (Hagen)
1964
Das Rheingold (Fasolt)
Die Walküre (Hunding)
Götterdämmerung (Hagen)
Penelope Turing on Gottlob Frick
Gottlob Frick made his Bayreuth debut as Veit Pogner. Over the years Bayreuth has been rich in fine bass voices, but Frick's is among the most individual of them all. "Granite" is a word often used to describe his voice, and hard as rock it can be, when the part requires it. Black, black, powerful, steady, and absolutely true – I cannot remember ever hearing Gottlob Frick sing off-pitch. It is an amazing instrument, and he is a fine actor too. Wagnergoers who had seen the London Ring on 1951 were already familiar with his Hagen there. As the Bayreuth Pogner he sang with great beauty, revealing a tenderness in the great voice which always surprises those who have heard him only in villainous roles.
Penelope Turing: New Bayreuth (p. 44)
See also
- Gottlob-Frick-Gesellschaft e. V.
- About Gottlob Frick on Wikipedia
- Wolfgang Wagner
Gottlob Frick recordings on Amazon
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