 |
Leo BlechGerman opera composer and conductor
Date of Birth: 21.04.1871
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Leo Blech: German Opera Composer and Conductor
Leo Blech was a German opera composer and conductor, best known for his work at the Royal Dramatic Theater (Königliches Schauspielhaus) - the future Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper Unter den Linden) - from 1906 to 1937. From 1949 to 1953, he worked as a conductor at the German Opera (Berlin's Städtische Oper). Blech's performances were always distinguished by their extraordinary purity, brightness, and elegant sound, particularly when performing the works of Wagner, Verdi, and Bizet. His signature piece became Carmen, and he conducted various productions of this opera more than 600 times.
Biography
Leo Blech was born in Aachen, Rhenish Prussia. He studied at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, where he received piano lessons from Ernst Rudorff and composition instruction from Woldemar Bargiel. After attending the University of Arts, Blech took private lessons from Engelbert Humperdinck for some time. He briefly pursued a career in trade before becoming a conductor at the Stadttheater Aachen in 1893.
From 1899 to 1906, Blech conducted at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague. He then moved to the Royal Dramatic Theater in Berlin. In 1913, he became the theater's general music director. Between 1923 and 1926, Blech collaborated with various opera houses in Berlin and Vienna, including the German Opera, Volksoper Berlin, and Vienna Volksoper. In 1926, he returned to the Royal Dramatic Theater, which had been renamed the Berlin State Opera by then.
In 1937, Blech was forced to leave Germany and flee to Riga due to the anti-Semitic policies of the Nazis, which made Germany an extremely uncomfortable place for Jews. During World War II, he worked at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. In 1949, Blech returned to Berlin and became a conductor at the German Opera, where he worked until 1953. Leo Blech passed away on August 25, 1958, at the age of 87.
