Heinrich Gudehus

Heinrich Gudehus (March 30, 1845 – October 9, 1909) was a German operatic tenor who was particularly celebrated for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and in the dramatic French opera repertoire.[1]

Early life

The son of Heinrich Wilhelm and his wife Marie Dorothee Gudehus (née Martens),[2] Heinrich Gudehus was born in Altenhagen, Celle on March 30, 1845.[3] In his youth he studied both the piano and organ with court organist Heinrich Wilhelm Stolze.[2]

Following in the footsteps of his father who was a teacher,[4] he began his professional life as an educator in 1866;[2] working in that capacity over the next several years in Celle and Goslar.[4] He concurrently worked as the organist at the Marktkirche St. Cosmas und Damian (Goslar).[2] On July 17, 1866 he married Caroline Johanne Klippel in Celle. Their marriage ended tragically when she died after giving birth to a stillborn child on May 2, 1867. He married Caroline's sister, Dorothee Friedrike, on December 20, 1868. She also died early in the marriage on December 7, 1869.[2]

Singing career

Gudehus abandoned his teaching career in order to train as an opera singer. He studied with soprano Malvina Garrigues in Braunschweig and Gustav Engel in Berlin before becoming a pupil of Luise Ress with whom he studied in Berlin from 1872-1875.[4] He made his professional opera debut at the Royal Opera, Berlin on January 7, 1871 as Nadori in Louis Spohr's Jessonda.[3] Not long after he had success there in the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute.[2] He left the company to complete his vocal training with Ress.[4]

In the 1875-1876 season Gudehus was committed to the Latvian National Opera where he first appeared as Raoul de Nangis in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.[4] The following season he was engaged by Theater Lübeck after which he was at Theater Freiburg in 1877-1878 season.[4] On May 22, 1877 he married Elisabeth Tovote in Meppen.[2] Their marriage produced two sons and two daughters. From 1878 through 1880 he was a resident artist at Theater Bremen.[4] During this time he appeared as a guest artist at the Hamburg State Opera in 1878.[2]

Gudehus worked as a principal member of the Semperoper in Dresden from 1880 to 1890; making he debut with the company in the title role of Lohengrin.[1] Some of the parts he sang there included Siegfried in a complete staging of The Ring Cycle in 1885 and Tristan in Tristan und Isolde in 1886.[4] Wagner traveled specifically to Dresden to hear him sing in 1881 which led to a contract at the Bayreuth Festival.[2] He made multiple appearances at Bayreuth between 1882 and 1889;[4] making his debut there in the title role of Parsifal on July 28, 1882.[3] It was notably only the second time that opera had been staged at that point in history.[4] Other appearances at Bayreuth included Tristan in Tristan und Isolde in 1886 and Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1888.[3]

Gudehus performed Walther von Stolzing for his debut at the Royal Opera House in London in June 4, 1884.[3] His other repertoire in London included Max in Der Freischütz, Tristan, Walther von Stolzing, and the title roles in Lohengrin and Tannhäuser.[4] He also performed the title role in a concert version of Parsifal at Royal Albert Hall in 1884.[4] Other guest appearances included performances at the Oper Frankfurt and the Vienna State Opera in 1885-1886.[4]

Gudehus performed Tannhäuser for his debut at the Metropolitan Opera on November 28, 1890.[3] Other parts he sang at the Met included Florestan in Fidelio, Jean of Leyden in Le Prophète, Raoul de Nangis, Siegfried in Götterdämmerung, Siegmund in Die Walküre, Tannhäuser, and Tristan.[1] After one season in New York he returned to the Royal Opera, Berlin where he performed until his retirement from the stage in 1896.[3][1]

Later life

In his later life he worked as a voice teacher in Dresden.[3] He died in Dresden on October 9, 1909.[1] He is buried at Alter Annenfriedhof cemetery.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Forbes, Elizabeth (2008). "Gudehus, Heinrich". The Grove Book of Opera Singers. Oxford University Press. p. 207. ISBN 9780195337655.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Heinrich Gudehus (1842-1909)". Mahler Foundation. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Baker, Theodore; Slonimsky, Nicolas (1978). "Gudehus, Heinrich". Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Schirmer Books. p. 657. ISBN 9780028702407.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kutsch, K. J.; Riemens, Leo (2003). "Gudehus, Heinrich". In Rost, Hansjörg (ed.). Grosses Sängerlexikon. K. G. Saur Verlag. p. 1875.
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