Reinhold Fritz was a German operatic bass-baritone. He was engaged at the Stuttgart Court Opera for 25 years and was awarded the title Kammersänger. He performed a broad repertoire of both serious and comic roles, and participated in world premieres including the first version of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, Siegfried Wagner's An allem ist Hütchen schuld! and Hindemith's Das Nusch-Nuschi. Fritz was dismissed in 1933 under the Nazi regime because his wife was Jewish.
Life and career
Born in Ostfildern, Fritz learned the profession of a goldsmith and practised it for six years in Esslingen am Neckar. In 1904 he began studying voice in Stuttgart, and was engaged as an apprentice at the Stuttgart Court Opera in 1908. After only one year he was accepted as a member of the ensemble. He built a broad repertoire of both serious and comic roles, and quickly became one of the pillars of the ensemble. His voice range also included Heldenbaritone roles. In 1913, he was awarded the title of a royal Kammersänger. He received offers from other opera houses, but remained loyal to the Stuttgart opera. He also took part in numerous premieres and first performances, in works by Walter Braunfels, Paul Hindemith, Ture Rangström, Max von Schillings and Siegfried Wagner. He only left Stuttgart for guest performances, which took him to the Bayerische Hofoper in Munich and the Großherzogliches Hoftheater in Karlsruhe, among others. Fritz married Hilda Landauer from Ravensburg in 1912. The couple had at least one son, Walter Fritz, who later also pursued a career as an opera singer. Since the singer refused to divorce his Jewish wife after the National Socialists seized power, he was "retired for health reasons", as it was officially stated, on 1 August 1933 at the age of 49. However, unlike his Jewish colleagues Hermann Horner and Hermann Wilhelm Weil, who were also dismissed, he was given the right to a farewell performance. On 6 December 1933, he appeared as van Bett in Lortzing's Zar und Zimmermann, one of his signature roles, and was named an honorary member of the house that evening. On the playbill, however, he was already noted as a guest. Verstummte Stimmen notes that individual guest performances at the Stuttgart opera until 1935 did not change the fact that his singing career was suddenly ended at its peak. This was followed by exclusion from the, which was tantamount to a practical Berufsverbot. Since the family could not survive with the meagre pension, Fritz had to work from then on as an assistant for a Stuttgart coal merchant and in a Bielefeld company. To make matters worse, the family's home was destroyed by aerial bombs. In the 1945/46 season Fritz was brought back to the Stuttgart opera, but only with a guest performance contract for ten evenings. Fritz spent the last years of his life in Eningen unter Achalm. He died in Stuttgart at the age of 66.
Roles
The list of roles is based on Großes Sängerlexikon and Verstummte Stimmen: World premieres in Stuttgart:
Prinzessin Brambilla by Walter Braunfels, 25 March 1909, conductor: Max von Schillings
Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, original version, 25 October 2012 - as Truffaldino
An allem ist Hütchen schuld! by Siegfried Wagner, 6 December 1917 - as Menschenfresser / Mond
Die Kronenbraut by August Strindberg and Ture Rangström, 1919, conductor: Max von Schillings
Das Nusch-Nuschi by Paul Hindemith, 4 June 1921, conductor: Fritz Busch, director: Otto Erhardt, stage: Oskar Schlemmer - as Kyce Waing
Memorial
Fritz was one of the leading singers of the Stuttgart opera. He was also successful in guest appearances and impressed with his versatility. His work in Stuttgart was shown in the exhibition , about the expulsion of Jewish performers from 1933 to 1945, which was also shown at the Stuttgart State Opera in autumn 2008. On 7 April 2016, another memorial session for the victims of the Nazi regime was held among the members of the Stuttgart State Theatres. In this context, a wall plaque "Verstummte Stimmen" for 23 artists, including Reinhold Fritz, was unveiled in the foyer of the Staatstheater.
