Bahr-Mildenburg, Anna

"Anna von Mildenburg was the first person through who- se artistry Mahler was able to show the great female figu- res of the music drama in their entire shattering power: Brünnhilde and Isolde, Ortrud and Elisabeth, , Gluck's Clytemnestra and Donna Anna; and also Amne- ris and Amelia, Milada in Dalibor, Pfitzner's Minneleide and Santuzza. A woman's suffering has never been pre- sented, not even by Duse, in such magnitude as by this singer, in whom all the dark forces of tragedy have come alive. There is no greater tragic artist in our time."

(Richard Specht: . 1913, quoted from Franz Willnauer: Gustav Mahler. "Mein lieber Trotzkopf, meine süße Mohnblume". Briefe an Anna von Mildenburg. : Zsolnay, 2006, p. 439 ff)

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Thanks to her brilliant voice (highly dramatic soprano), her vocal and personal expressive powers and her dra- matic intelligence, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg was, in the ey- es of Gustav Mahler (to whom she was also bound in a lengthy love relationship), the ideal "singing tragedian" who fulfilled his demands for emotional depth in music- dramatic interpretation. In the Bayreuth of the era of Co- sima Wagner, she was a brilliant and convincing interpre- ter of the ideal of the "German belcanto" as adopted by

Die Sängerin Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Rollenbild von Julius . She also attained great fame as a tea- Weisz, o. J. cher with the then completely new method of supplemen- ting customary vocal training with music-dramatic inst-

Anna Bahr-Mildenburg ruction, and encouraging her pupils to display true stage Birth name: Marie Anna Wilhelmine Elisabeth Bellschan presentation. In both music and staging, she anticipated von Mildenburg a great deal of what eventually became accepted after 1951 as the new Bayreuth style, both in staging and in

* 29 November 1872 in Wien, Österreich music. Her stage direction of persons - forming the basis † 27 January 1947 in Wien, Österreich of her productions - was controversial. Cities an countries "Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart", 2nd printing, indicates the birth name "Mildenburg von Bellschau"; it After her sensational debut as Brünnhilde in Richard Wa- is obviously incorrect, however, in view of the baptismal gner's “Walküre” ("Valkyrie") in 1895 at the former Ham- entry on 22 December 1872, according to which the na- burg State Theatre (today State Opera) under me at birth is "Bellschan von Mildenburg". the direction of her mentor, Gustav Mahler, Anna Bahr- Mildenburg continued to celebrate major successes (so-

Singer, singing teacher, opera director, journalist, me of which were guest performances) in Bayreuth and organiser of lectures, testamentary executor (as regards Vienna, then in London, Amsterdam, Zurich, Berlin, the estate of her husband, ), nurse , Brussels, Paris and Moscow. She was active in (during the First World War), actress (in works of her , Berlin, Salzburg and Vienna as a teacher of dra- husband and in productions by Max Reinhard) matics, professor of voice and operatic performance and opera director, and at the as an actress.

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dence whether or not they were engaged to be married Biography (the singer's letters of reply were destroyed either by Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, born on 29 November 1872, was Mahler himself or by his later wife ; the on- born into an officer's family initially residing in Vienna, ly surviving letters are those written by Anna Bahr-Mil- later in Klagenfurt. Conspicuously musical, she received denburg to Mahler beginning in about the spring of 1902 piano lessons beginning at age seven and vocal instructi- when he was the opera director.) It is evident from Mah- on later on. She is said to have inherited her talent from ler's letters to Anna Bahr-Mildenburg that the relati- her maternal grandfather, a famous singer in his youth. onship had already cooled again before Mahler began his In Anna Bahr-Mildenburg's eighth year, the family mo- engagement as director of the Court Opera in Vienna ved from Klagenfurt to Görz (located near Trieste). The (the later State Opera) in 1897. Nonetheless she was en- singing lessons that she had already received in Klagen- gaged as an ensemble member in Vienna on his recom- furt from Karl Weidt were continued in Görz by Helene mendation beginning on 1 June 1898, even though she Rieckhoff-Pessiack. But it was only with the help of the had to "refrain from all personal dealings" with Mahler, comedy writer Julius Rosen, who lived in a neighbouring as stated in a letter from him to her in July 1897; from flat, that she was able to win her parents' support in fulfil- the informal address in the letters, "Liebste Anna" (“Dea- ling her wish to become a singer. Upon the request of her rest Anna”), he returned to the formal pronoun "Sie" of singing teacher Helene Rieckhoff-Pessiack, and probably the beginning of their acquaintance. The reason for the also due to her father's (an Imperial and Royal Major) rupture of the relationship cannot be clarified due to lack good connections, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg was granted of documentation. an audition for the then Vienna Court Opera director Wil- helm Jahn, who in turn recommended her to Rosa Pa- Shortly after her definitive separation from Mahler, from pier-Paumgartner. Due to her modest financial situation, about the beginning of 1898 (Mahler's "internal" separati- Anna Bahr-Mildenburg received a scholarship at the fa- on, in Willnauer's opinion, can perhaps be placed in the mous opera school and developed so well there, as a sin- summer of 1896), Anna Bahr-Mildenburg entered into ger, that she was initially engaged by the Leipzig Opera new relationships, first with one of Mahler's Hamburg fri- director Max Staegemann already at the end of her first ends, the well-to-do lawyer Dr. Hermann Behn, which year of study. Through the mediation of Rosa Papier-Pa- probably ended in the winter of 1899/1900. Moreover, umgartner, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg was also able to sing whilst still with Behn, she had a relationship with the for Bernhard Pollini, the director of the former Hamburg critic Ludwig Karpath, Mahler's friend from Budapest State Theatre (today ), who was so days. Shortly thereafter she then became the partner of enthusiastic over her ability that he telegraphed to Stae- Siegfried Lipiner, also Mahler's friend of many years' gemann, enticed her away from him and signed her on at standing. According to her diary, she also had a briefer re- the Hamburg Opera for three years beginning on 1 Sep- lationship with Alfred Roller, Mahler's colleague and an tember 1895. Already during her period of study with Ro- ingenious set designer in Vienna. sa Papier-Paumgartner, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg did not allow people to address her by the family name "Bell- Anna Bahr-Mildenburg remained at the Vienna Court schan von Mildenburg", but only by "von Mildenburg" – Opera until 1917 and celebrated great successes there, in- simply because Rosa Papier-Paumgartner found that this cluding her role debut as Isolde in Richard Wagner's was easier to remember. "" on 13 February 1900. Her career was also boosted by the fact that, in 1896, Mahler had al- Having been vocally well trained, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg ready recommended her to , who rehear- was nonetheless an absolute novice on the operatic stage sed the role of Kundry in Wagner's "" and later of when she started out in Hamburg. This notwithstanding, Isolde. Anna Bahr-Mildenburg made her debut as Kund- as Gustav Mahler later wrote to Natalie Bauer-Lechner, ry at the in 1897 and appeared there "her musical and dramatic genius already radiated from again in 1909, 1911 and 1914. Guest appearances led her everything." For these singing abilities, she found in Gus- to London in 1910 and 1913, to Amsterdam in 1911 and to tav Mahler an ideal mentor to whom she also soon beca- Brussels in 1914. me bound in an intensive love relationship. It cannot be gathered with any certainty from the surviving correspon- Through her instruction from Mahler and Cosima Wag-

– 2 – Bahr-Mildenburg, Anna ner (who regularly rehearsed Wagner roles with young ber: IV / 12, 16) In addition, she polemicised with emotio- singers and also directed in Bayreuth), Anna Bahr-Mil- nally laden words against those who – as she expressed denburg acquired a mature dramatic competence; she – wanted to take away her life's content from her. In her especially perfected her talent for interpreting music-dra- diary, she called those who did not invite her to perform matic procedures with impressive acting. as a singer, "murderers, stranglers, withholders of my art", for example, and wished that "God should bring It is nonetheless striking that, alongside this ability, the them to justice". (Diary 1928, shelf number: V / 1, 6) condition of her voice was a frequently discussed subject in the Mildenburg reception from the very outset. Accord- The fact is that she had to sing extremely often from the ing to Willnauer, for example, the files of the Court Ope- beginning of her career in Hamburg onwards (see also ra report Anna Bahr-Mildenburg's unusually frequent re- the compilation of Bahr-Mildenburg's appearances in quests from the "most esteemed Herr Director Mahler" Hamburg in Willnauer, see above, pp. 482ff). According and especially, later on, from his successor Felix von to this, the singer had to perform 19 times just from Sep- Weingartner, that she be permitted to take a holiday for tember until the end of 1895 during her first season. She the care or recovery of her voice or that she would have appeared in all three Brünnhilde roles, also as Leonore to cancel performances, or they would have to be sung by ("Fidelio"), Elisabeth ("Tannhäuser"), Senta (“Der flie- someone else (see Willnauer, see above, p. 234 and p. gende Holländer”/"The Flying Dutchman"), Aida ("Ai- 442). Parizek notes that there were more remarks in con- da"), Rezia ("") and as the Countess (“Die Hoch- cert reviews beginning in about 1907 attesting to the ar- zeit des Figaro”/"The Marriage of Figaro"). The enor- tist's "exhausted voice" or calling her a "vocal ruin" (see mous vocal demands of the (Wagner) roles in which An- also the remarks in the dissertation by Gabriele Parizek na Bahr-Mildenburg was cast are also undeniable; these "Anna Bahr-Mildenburg: Theaterkunst als Lebenswerk". roles, also in the opinion of present-day experts, entail Dissertation, University of Vienna, 2007, pp. 56ff). On per se an overtaxing of the voice. The singer herself recog- the other hand, her husband Hermann Bahr, at a perfor- nised the dangers to her voice as a result of the excessive mance of “Götterdämmerung” on 22 June 1908 at the Vi- demands made by the many challenging roles, but she enna Court Opera, reported having experienced "utterly must have felt unable to undertake anything effective preposterous ovations" for his wife (source: against them. This can be gathered from a letter of Anna http://www.univie.ac.at/bahr/chronological table wi- Bahr-Mildenburg to Nina Spiegler of 11 September 1901. thout any further verification). Anna Bahr-Mildenburg She writes literally: "This constant work on Wagner roles herself also confronted this problem in a large number of must ruin an artist; I sense clearly that I must, by no me- diary entries, writing that these (in her opinion) untrue ans, overexert my energies again as I did last season. I press reports had become an obstacle to further ap- cannot tell you how horribly I feel when I think of having pearances. She also wrote in her diary: "I […] had many to continue working like that. The exclusive work in Wag- other beautiful performances, but my enemies were unre- ner roles does not allow for any artistic singing, the only lenting and remained so, not upholding the beauty that I thing that conserves the voice; for a long time, after tasks had so far given them but invoking the performances such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, Ortrud, etc. the vocal chords where I must have done poorly due to my physical condi- are in a condition that does not permit a study of the refi- tion. And they refer to this and do not forgive me and nements of vocal technique. Therein lies the secret of damn me to remain silent and they gradually succeeded this downright horrifying vocal degeneration." (Willnau- in convincing the entire world that it was all over with er, see above, pp. 307 ff. Source: Manuscript Collection me. And all sorts of people who really are washed up, of the Austrian National Library, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg who always sing wrong notes, can perform, make guest No. 207 / 76–5) Up to the present day, scholars continue appearances, participate here and there and I, whose to speculate as to whether the reasons for Mildenburg's voice is of an utterly inexpressible beauty, must remain vocal problems are to be found in a possibly incorrect silent; and I always see on all those faces either pity over training by her teacher – Hermann Bahr hypothesised my misfortune with my voice, or contentedness and reas- this in one of his diaries (see "Meister und Meisterbriefe surance that I have now been put to silence and no lon- um Hermann Bahr. Aus seinen Entwürfen, Tagebüchern ger stand in the way of purity and lack of talent." (Diary und seinem Briefwechsel mit , Hugo von of June 1920, Box 79 – Diaries 1912–1920 –, shelf num- Hofmannsthal, Max Reinhardt, Josef Kainz, Eleonora

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Duse und Anna von Mildenburg", ed. Joseph Gregor, Vi- länder” ("Flying Dutchman") were just as brilliant. She al- enna 1947, p. 212) – or whether she was "burnt out" by so had great success as Isolde ("Tristan and Isolde") in the Hamburg director Pollini (Willnauer, see above, p. 8) January 1900. In 1901, after having belonged to the or, due to a vacancy in Hamburg, was used from the very Court Opera for just three years, the honorary title of Im- beginning in a vocal range that did not at all suit her perial and Royal Kammersängerin was bestowed upon (this hypothesis is stated, at any rate, by Jens Malte Fi- her. In 1905 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg made a guest ap- scher in his Mahler biography - "Gustav Mahler. Der pearance as Isolde at the German Provincial Theatre in fremde Vertraute". Vienna: Zsolnay, 2003, p. 290). Prague and in June 1906 in London (she enjoyed such a great success with this performance that she was offered It can no longer be verified today, due to the passage of ti- a guest contract at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, me since her death in 1947 and the lack of documentati- which she refused). "Great artistic deeds" during the on, whether or not the statements concerning the sin- 1904/05 season were Beethoven's "Fidelio" as well as ger's vocal health are based on facts. It appears, however, participation in the new production of the “Ring des Ni- that an area of projection arose that served to depict a ste- belungen” ("Ring of the Nibelung") that Mahler had pre- reotyped image of the singer. It was not the flawlessness pared in cooperation with Alfred Roller. After Mahler's of her voice through which Bahr-Mildenburg impressed departure from the Viennese stage in late 1907, the per- her listeners, but her "demonic gift for characterisation". formance of Clytemnestra in "" of Richard Willnauer, for example, reports on her interpretation of Strauss was surely one of Anna Bahr-Mildenburg's most Clytemnestra as follows: "Mildenburg used this role - in outstanding successes. On 24 March 1909 she appeared which the essential thing is not vocal beauty but a 'demo- in this role for the first time; it was with this role that she nic gift for characterisation' - to create a grandiose psy- then bade farewell to the stage of the Vienna Court Ope- chological study with which she gave brilliant performan- ra in 1916. After the end of the First World War, she was ces for over twenty years on many stages of Europe and a guest at the (as the Court Opera has meanwhile gone down in the history of theatre in the was called from then on) only sporadically, primarily in 20th century" (see above, pp. 445ff). Rebecca Grotjahn the role of Clytemnestra. With this role, she then took pointed out that this kind of classification in the discour- her definitive leave from public stage life at the Augsburg se on singers served the purpose of spreading clichés Opera Festival. (Grotjahn, "Angelica Catalani – Das Bild der Diva", in: Vi- va voce No. 57 / 58, p. 9). Because her vocal abilities we- On 22 August 1909 Anna von Mildenburg married the au- re in doubt, it was suggested that the singer's effect was thor, director and dramaturge Hermann Bahr and called not based on her artistic work, but on mere appearance herself Bahr-Mildenburg from this time onwards. The (Grotjahn, see above, p. 12). Ultimately the singer does couple first lived in Vienna, then a few years in Salzburg not appear as an artist to be taken seriously, but as a "di- and in Munich beginning in 1922, where the artist had va". held a professorship at the State Academy of Music (to- day Music Academy) since 1920. Repeatedly interrupted by shorter or longer absences from the operatic stage due to hoarseness or colds, Anna Beginning in 1922, the dream of becoming an actress, al- Bahr-Mildenburg also enjoyed major successes as a sin- ready formulated earlier in her diaries, was fulfilled in ger during the ensuing years. Not only must the major the grand style. After she had so far "only" appeared in Wagner roles be mentioned in this connection (including the works of her husband, she could now appear at the Ortrud in Wagner's "Lohengrin", with which Anna Bahr- Salzburg Festival by invitation of Max Reinhardt, in the Mildenburg made her debut in Vienna in August 1898, role of the "world" in Reinhardt's production of Hugo Elisabeth in "Tannhäuser" and Brünnhilde in "Twilight von Hofmannsthal's “Großes Salzburger Welttheater” of the Gods"), but also the role of Donna Anna in Mo- ("Great Salzburg World Theatre"). She also played the zart's "", in which she became a "singing Abbess under Reinhardt's direction in Karl Vollmöller's tragedian ranking with Eleonore Duse", as her later hus- “Das Mirakel” ("The Miracle"). band Hermann Bahr enthusiastically judged (see Will- nauer, as above, p. 364). Her debuts in the title role of When the Vienna Court Opera remained closed starting Verdi's "Aida" and as Senta in Wagner's “Fliegender Hol- on 1 September 1914 due to the events of the war, Anna

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Bahr-Mildenburg made herself available for the care of inszeniert den Ring des Nibelungen". "Süddeutsche Zei- wounded soldiers from the Front. As a voluntary helper, tung", 18.3.1987, No. 64, p. 17). It was possible that Bru- she worked at Salzburg Hospital and then recorded her no Walter wanted to fill the gap created by the advanced experiences in two reports ("Weihnachten unserer Ver- age of the head director, Anton von Fuchs. Of some signi- wundeten", in: Erinnerungen No. 25, Vienna, Berlin: ficance may also have been the fact that Walter did not Wiener Literarische Anstalt, 1921, pp. 204 ff, and in: Salz- exactly get on brilliantly with Wirk. The question as to burger Volksblatt, 2 January 1915; "'Dienen, dienen'", in: whether or not any additional activities of Bahr-Milden- Erinnerungen No. 23, see above, pp. 179 ff) and a novelet- burg as a director were planned, must remain unanswe- te ("Hacin", in: Erinnerungen No. 24, see above, pp. 191 red due to a lack of documentation. In any case, no such ff) as well as in diary entries of the years 1914/15 that ha- plans materialised, due to changed circumstances at the ve not so far been published. National Theatre. When Hans Knappertsbusch became Bruno Walter's successor as general music director in la- During the 1900/01 season, after Mahler had already as- te 1922, a quarrel with Anna Bahr-Mildenburg apparent- signed a portion of the scenic rehearsals with her collea- ly took place. She wrote in a letter to Knappertsbusch: "I gues to Anna Bahr-Mildenburg (as an assistant), she no longer wish to give my name under any circumstances could only later realise her own production ideas. In [...] for performances for which I cannot claim responsi- 1920 she directed the premiere performance of "Der Un- bility before my artistic conscience [...]" (see Katz, abo- mensch" (“The Brute”), a play by her husband, at the Ber- ve). The precise reasons for the quarrel can no longer be lin Kammerspiele. She also directed a number of times at established. Since Knappertsbusch accepted Bahr-Mil- performances by her pupils in her capacity as voice tea- denburg's resignation in his letter of 15 December 1923, cher at the Munich Academy of Music, for example Mo- referring to "circumstances of the times" and "financial zart's "Bastien and Bastienne" and “Der Schauspieldirek- reasons", it can be presumed that the budget was to be tor” ("The Impresario"). considerably reduced for the artists' rehearsals. Suppor- Having been invited by Bruno Walter during the 1921/22 ting evidence for this is found in the fact that Bahr-Mil- season, she also directed Wagner's complete “Ring des denburg speaks of "temporally limited circumstances" in Nibelungen” ("Ring of the Nibelung"), performed at the her above-cited letter which, in her view, would lead to Opera Festival at the Munich National Theatre and at the "mere improvisation". This would have violated her con- Prince Regent's Theatre. Opinions of this production in ception of art, however, according to which the indivi- the press varied greatly. Gabriele Parizek quotes several dual work with the singers belonged to the elementary fo- very positive reviews in her dissertation (see above., pp. undations of her work. For this reason, she probably had 337 ff), Franz Willnauer, on the other hand, reported the impression that the production now "no longer corre- that the production was largely rejected by the press (see sponded to her Bayreuth education" and her "concepti- above, p. 457). It remains to be verified which press opi- ons of a Bayreuth work of art", as she formulated it in the nion predominated. In any case, it appears to have been aforementioned letter. It is evident from the documents irrelevant for these quite varied verdicts that here – atypi- of the Prince Regent Theatre that all four parts of the cally for that time - a woman had appeared as director. It "Ring" were played between August 1922 and September was reported in this way by Anne Rose Katz, at any rate, 1923, naming Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as the director. in her article of 18 March 1987 in the "Süddeutsche Zei- When the work was revived one year later, Max Hofmül- tung": neither the daily of that time nor the ler was named as the director; he was responsible for the Munich Theatre commented on this "sensati- course of the staging until 1928. One year later there was on". For all that, this activity of Anna Bahr-Mildenburg yet another change: Hofmüller was no longer the direc- was thoroughly unusual, for she was initially only enga- tor, but instead Kurt Barré, who was responsible for the ged as a “Vortragsmeisterin”. Accordingly, she was not re- course of the staging until 1933. It was only for the 1934 sponsible for the overall production, but only for the Festival that there was a new staging, for which Kurt Bar- rehearsals with the soloists. When disagreements arose ré is once again indicated as having been the director. between her and the resident producer of the National Theatre, Willi Wirk, concerning the new production, the It was only much later that Anna Bahr-Mildenburg direc- overall production was assigned to her (and not Wirk) by ted again: in 1940 in Otto Nicolai's “Die lustigen Weiber the general artistic director (Anne Rose Katz: "Eine Frau von Windsor” ("The Merry Wives of Windsor") and in

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1941 in Albert Lortzing's “Zar und Zimmermann” ("Tsar faithful, as far as the legacy of Wagner is concerned" and Carpenter"), both at the Salzburg Provincial Theatre. (newspaper review of 13 August 1922 about her "Ring", Three weeks prior to the beginning of the 1933 Salzburg quoted by Gabriele Parizek, see above, p. 337). On the ot- Festival, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg had resigned the direc- her hand, it is reported that her working method in accor- torship in "Tristan and Isolde" "[...] for reasons of natu- dance with the motto "the original is always the most ori- ral loyalty to the state that I serve, namely the unified ginal one" had failed to recognise that each artist must German Reich under the leadership of Adolf Hitler [...]" work out his/her own presentation profile and that a (she was living as an Austrian citizen in Munich at this ti- work can always be created anew through new directors' me; the National Socialist Party was prohibited in Aust- interpretations. The assessment that Bahr-Mildenburg's ria). From her professional correspondence, one can gat- production "failed primarily due to the director", as Sch- her that she tried to secure more directorial assignments läder/Braunmüller opine ("Tradition mit Zukunft. 100 a number of times, but that all corresponding projects fai- Jahre Prinzregententheater München“, Feldkirchen led for various reasons. 1996, p. 67) appears problematic, however. It must be as- ked whether the stylistic and aesthetic inconsistency of She was also working as a singing teacher. Beginning in the production was not, in fact, due to its time. Ultimate- February 1920, initially as a "teacher of dramatics", then ly, research must be conducted into the conditions of di- from 21 July 1921 as a full professor at the Academy of recting around 1920 in order to attain a balanced verdict Music in Munich, she passed on to her pupils her know- in this manner (see my Dissertation, p. 59 ff.). ledge of scenic role formation until she was pensioned in 1937. For her entire life, she firmly adhered to the ideal Already in 1918 she had taken over a course in music dra- of genuine stage presentation out of the spirit of the mu- maturgy as an instructor at the New Vienna Conservato- sic, as she had learned it from Mahler and Cosima Wag- ry, followed by the directorship of the "opera school" du- ner, or as she understood it. She explained her working ring the academic year 1919/20. Nonetheless, her sugges- method at numerous lectures, summer courses, demonst- tion that she herself create such a facility at the Vienna ration concerts and seminars (at which she performed State Opera came to nought. Nor did her attempt to start next to her pupils) as well as in many newspaper articles. a "style formation school" at the Vienna Academy of Mu- For her, the gestures of the singer on stage had to "lis- sic and the Performing Arts meet with success. Instead, ten" to the music, and had to be "taken from the music" she gave music-dramatic courses in Salzburg from 1934 (see also: The Wagner Gesture: Introduction to the Lectu- to 1942, at the same time as her teaching activities as a re "Music and Gesture", held on 8 May 1925 in the small professor at the Music Academy in Munich. Neverthel- Festival Hall of the University of Vienna. Published by ess, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg did not abandon her wish to the Central Council of the Intellectual Workers of Aust- also teach in her native city of Vienna. She only succee- ria. Printed Music Collection of the Austrian National Li- ded in doing so during the Nazi period. Five more years brary, Eleonore Vondenhoff Collection). She required elapsed after receiving her pension in Munich before she from her pupils, she wrote, "that the gestures are not me- was allowed to carry out such activities in Vienna. She re- chanical, but have an inner justification. [...] It is only th- peatedly had to defend herself against the suspicion that rough inwardness that one becomes comprehensible." she was not "Aryan". In the newspaper "Der Stürmer", Anna Bahr-Mildenburg was thus very meticulous and in- she was even accused of being "the intimate friend of the tellectual in her work as a director, imparting to them Jew Gustav Mahler her whole life long" and that her hus- her approach that it is not sufficient to merely embody band Hermann Bahr "had disgraced his name by stan- one finger on stage and to mechanically "work off" a mi- ding up for the Jewish Bolshevist chief Ernst Toller". She nimal repertoire of gestures. Rather, as is evident from was therefore "henceforth unsuitable to show German ta- her stage directions, she worked with her actors and pu- lents the path that leads upwards to the heights of art. pils on each detail of the role with great precision, inspi- She lacked the ultimate greatness: the truth." After Anna red and guided by the concepts with which she had beco- Bahr-Mildenburg had tacked an open letter on the wall me familiar with Gustav Mahler and Cosima Wagner, of her classroom in May 1933, according to which she and then made her own. "[could] safely affirm that my whole life is and was a ful- With this attitude, however, she did not only earn praise. filment of that which our Führer proclaims today as the On the one hand, she was called "the most faithful of the first condition for the recovery of our people" (it must re-

– 6 – Bahr-Mildenburg, Anna main open whether she wrote this out of political calcula- Alma Mahler depicted a problematic image of Anna Bahr- tion or due to her unrealistic, escapist artistic nature) Mildenburg in her memoires. In them, she designates and the "Führer" had received her, she was considered re- herself as the "natural enemy" of Bahr-Mildenburg and habilitated. Anna Bahr-Mildenburg's aforementioned believes that the love of the singer for Mahler was "very cancellation at the Salzburg Festival 1933 surely contribu- self-serving". Moreover, she insinuates that Anna Bahr- ted to this assessment as well. In November 1942, on her Mildenburg was the reason why Mahler left Hamburg 70th birthday, she was awarded the "Greater German (quoted in F. Willnauer, see above, p. 388). The fact that Goethe Medal for Art and Science". In late autumn of the this is incorrect is shown by the documents published by same year, she moved to Vienna and gave a course there Franz Willnauer which prove that the singer occupied an in dramatic operatic presentation at the Reich Academy important place in Mahler's life for a long time, not only of Music during the winter semester of 1942/43 as well as a singer but also as a human being. For example, hard- as special courses at the Vienna Music School. Beginning ly anyone else knew about the creation of Mahler's Third in 1944 she was permanently employed there as a full-ti- Symphony as accurately as she did (Mahler had regularly me teacher; in addition, she was an instructor at the Mo- reported to Anna Bahr-Mildenburg in his letters on the zarteum in Salzburg during the summers of 1943 and progress of his new work), and hardly anyone else was in- 1944. She also continued to give private voice lessons un- formed as early, and as well informed in great detail, til her death. about Mahler's plans for moving from Hamburg to Vien- na as she was. During her last years, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg was also in- tensively occupied with the complete edition of the Opinions are divided concerning the question as to whet- works and letters of her husband, who had died on 15 Ja- her Anna Bahr-Mildenburg was able to comprehend nuary 1934. In addition, she began to organise both Her- Mahler's compositional ambitions. In his Mahler biogra- mann Bahr's estate and her own archive. phy, Jens Malte Fischer writes that she "[understood Mahler] because of her own artistic gifts, as a musician, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg died in her flat on Gumpendor- as a creator of music" (see Fischer, above, p. 295). Franz fer Straße 25 in the sixth district of Vienna on 27 January Willnauer and Henry-Louis de La Grange before him arri- 1947. The 75-year-old had passed away in her sleep. Af- ve at the opposing view. Willnauer believes that Mahler's ter a funeral service in the foyer of the Vienna State Ope- letters allow one to infer "a rather profound disappoint- ra, her mortal remains were taken to Salzburg and bu- ment concerning his partner in this fundamental area of ried next to those of her husband in the municipal ceme- his personality" (Willnauer, see above, p. 429). De La tery. Grange writes in his Mahler that "Milden- burg, completely preoccupied with herself and her art, Appreciation only had a superficial interest in her lover's work and Anna Bahr-Mildenburg attained great recognition as a ta- was probably also confused by the style of his music" lented and intelligent singer, and from her instruction (quoted in Willnauer, see above, p. 430). Only more ex- from Gustav Mahler and Cosima Wagner; she was fa- act research can show which of these assessments is cor- mous not only for the emotional depth of her music-dra- rect. The fact is that Mahler reported to her, as already matic interpretations, but also for her perfect vocal achie- mentioned, the progress of his Third Symphony in the vements. In addition, in her music-dramatic teaching, greatest detail and would surely not have done so if he she contributed to the fact that she as well as her pupils - had not been able to presume musical and artistic empa- according to all contemporary statements - stood out thy on her part. compared to many other Wagnerian singers during this period because of their authentic stage presentation. For It is remarkable that Anna Bahr-Mildenburg meticulous- a long time, scenically and musically, there was no arti- ly wrote down her thoughts, feelings and activities th- stic personality who even came close to attaining Anna roughout her entire life. Numerous diaries – unpublis- Bahr-Mildenburg's exceptional ranking in the area of Wa- hed so far – are in the Austrian Theatre Museum in Vien- gner. Her style of presentation also continued to be path- na. Unfortunately, as Franz Willnauer has stated, the ye- breaking for Wagner productions after 1951. ars between 1889 and 1906 in the series are missing, so that the letters of Mahler to his colleague and lover must

– 7 – Bahr-Mildenburg, Anna serve as a mirror of her personality image for this period. and gramophone records" loaned to her by the artist, the location of which, however, could not be clarified as yet. Anna Bahr-Mildenburg was incredibly productive as a Finally, she refers to various essays by the artist written feuilletonist and author after her marriage to Hermann between 1920 and 1940, without specifying these in any Bahr. In these documents (to be processed in detail) she greater detail. depicts not only her experiences as a nurse (during the First World War) and as a singer, but also reports on her In addition, Gabriele Parizek concerns herself with the ar- work with Gustav Mahler and Cosima Wagner. Above all, tist in her dissertation "Anna Bahr-Mildenburg: Theater- she promoted her conception of art in these articles. The- kunst als Lebenswerk" written in 2007 and especially em- se documents are therefore of considerable importance bracing her estate (diaries from the years 1888-1889 for the history of opera and contemporary history. and 1906-1947 as well as the remaining unpublished ar- chive material: role editing, essays, manuscripts, newspa- Reception per reviews on her performances) preserved in the Austri- Except for the small circle of the specialist public, it is evi- an Theatre Museum in Vienna. dent that the name of Anna Bahr-Mildenburg is hardly known today, not even amongst opera connoisseurs. The correspondence between Anna Bahr-Mildenburg Even present-day "Wagnerians" are not aware that she und Alma Mahler is published in its entirety in the work received eulogistic recognition as an artist and singer in of Franz Willnauer (see Literature). The controversy of countless reviews during her lifetime. This may also be the two women concerning the publication of Mahler's due to the fact that her voice can only be heard on a sing- letters was so far only documented in scholarly specialist le work on a very old recording. This is the recitative of literature (Helga Scholz-Michelitsch: "Eine Korrespon- the aria "Ozean, du Ungeheuer" from "Oberon" by Carl denz über eine Korrespondenz. Anna Bahr-Mildenburg Maria von Weber, made in 1904. und Alma Mahler zur Edition von Briefen Gustav Mah- In addition, a friend of the artist reported that there lers". In: Studien zur Musikwissenschaft, Beihefte der must be "recordings of Anna's Valkyrie"; however, these Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Österreich, Tutzing: Hans have apparently not reached the market (see F. Willnau- Schneider, 1994, pp. 365–374). er, above, p. 468). Research

It is also unknown that Anna Bahr-Mildenburg's work as Thanks to the work of Franz Willnauer (see Literature), a director and teacher provoked many (thoroughly conf- it has been possible to newly date approximately 200 let- licting) reactions in the press during her time. According ters and telegrams, stored in the manuscript department to research carried out so far, Anne Rose Katz appears to of the Austrian Theatre Museum in Vienna, from Mahler be the only person who has taken note of these activities to Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, and to thereby place them in of the artist in a newspaper article. chronological order. In addition, this work can be credi- ted with completely listing the appearances of Anna Bahr- Neither during her lifetime nor today has there been a Mildenburg in Hamburg and Vienna for the first time. In comprehensive scholarly treatment of her life story, arti- addition, the author delivers a quite comprehensive bio- stic career and contribution to the history of the theatre. graphical summary on the singer alongside an extensive, In the master's thesis by Candida Kraus on "Richard Wa- if not complete literature list of the writings of Anna gner and Anna Bahr-Mildenburg" written in 1946, Bahr-Mildenburg and those about the artist (see repertoi- which thus appeared during the artist's lifetime and was re and the annotations concerning this). designated by the author as a "dissertation", she conduc- ted research into the singer's relationship with the work A perusal of the complete estate of Anna Bahr-Milden- of Richard Wagner as a singer, teacher and director, whil- burg would be required for an exhaustive scholarly treat- st also attending her class. Biographical details are given ment; it is located in the Theatre Museum in Vienna in according to the "memories" of the artist. Information re- numerous cartons. The aforementioned dissertation by garding the role formation of the artist is based on her Gabriele Parizek ("Anna Bahr-Mildenburg. Theaterkunst work in the directorial treatment of Isolde; in addition, als Lebenswerk", 2007) has recently undertaken steps in the author presented "various role images, film strips this direction.

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Further sources, according to the information of Gabrie- Munich Municipal Library / Monacensia le Parizek (see Literature), are to be found in the Acade- State Institute for Musical Research, Berlin my of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna, which Foundation Archive of the Academy of Arts houses a special file entitled "Anna Bahr-Mildenburg. Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library, Frank- Special Course in 'Dramatic Operatic Performance' furt, Main 1942". Centre for Theatrical Research, Hamburg

As for the cooperation between Gustav Mahler and Anna Finally, mention must be made of the (not very extensi- Bahr-Mildenburg during the Hamburg period, accord- ve) material of the Arnold Schönberg Center, Vienna, ing to Franz Willnauer (see Literature) there is research and the Eleonore Vondenhoff Collection, housed in the material in the following: Hamburg State and University Austrian National Museum in Vienna. Library (Centre for Theatrical Research / Hamburg Thea- Need for Research tre Collection); Hamburg State Archive; Hamburg State Opera, Archive; Richard Wagner Museum in Bayreuth; A comprehensive processing of the artist's estate and a Berlin State Library, Journal Archive; Berlin Provincial scholarly classification of her life's work have so far been Archive; Berlin Municipal Museum Foundation, Theatri- lacking. In her dissertation, Gabriele Parizek (see Litera- cal Department; Library of the Institute for Musical Rese- ture) has taken on the diaries of the years 1888-1889 and arch, Berlin, Pictorial Archive; German State Opera in 1906-1947 and the remaining unpublished archive mate- Berlin. rial (role editing, essays, manuscripts, newspaper re- views of her performances) but arrives at problematic For the singer's years in Vienna and Salzburg, according conclusions in some places. to Willnauer's information there is research material in the following: Austrian State Archive, House, Court and The aforementioned master's thesis of Candida Kraus is State Archive, War Archive; Austrian National Library, a highly interesting document from the standpoint of con- Manuscript, Autograph and Estate Collection, Music temporary history, even though the treatment of sources Collection, Pictorial Archive, Journal Archive; Austrian and statements of the artist herself remain uncritical. Academy of Sciences, Archive, Phonogram Archive; Vien- na Museum; Music University (formerly: Academy of Mu- Franz Willnauer's work is written from the standpoint of sic and the Performing Arts), University Library; Vienna a Mahler researcher, which is why the means of a monta- Municipal and Provincial Library; Municipal Association ge of other documents could be helpful, in this case, in of Salzburg; Augsburg Municipal Archive; Carinthian obtaining a complete picture of the singer. Provincial Archive in Klagenfurt. Finally, the artist's self-representation, as it finds expres- A few letters from and to Anna Bahr-Mildenburg and ot- sion in her journals, for example, must be confronted wi- her documents on the artist's work in Bayreuth are also th representation by others (resulting, for example, from to be found in the Archive of the Richard Wagner Muse- newspaper reviews and contemporary reports), in order um in Bayreuth. to be able to provide the most comprehensive possible biographical picture of the artist. Additional manuscript documents are to be found, accor- ding to Kalliope, in the following libraries and archives: The author of this article is currently preparing several essays which will perform these tasks. A dissertation on , Munich the artist's aforementioned production of the “Ring des German Literature Archive, Marbach, Neckar / Manusc- Nibelungen” ("Ring of the Nibelung") in Munich, which ript Department appraises the available documents about this event for Freies Deutsches Hochstift (Goethe Museum), Frankfurt, the first time, was published in May 2013 (see Literatu- Main re). Hessian Provincial Library, Wiesbaden Authority control Institute for Theatrical, Film and Television Scholarship, Cologne / Theatre Collection

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Virtual International Authority File (VIAF): http://viaf.org/viaf/76580387 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (GND): http://d-nb.info/gnd/118646370 Library of Congress (LCCN): http://lccn.loc.gov/n84097719

Author(s)

Karin Martensen, 14. Mai 2008 / 3. Oktober 2008 / 19. Oktober 2016

Editing status

Editorial staff: Regina Back Silke Wenzel Translation: David Babcock First edit 19/12/2008 Last edit 24/04/2018

mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de Forschungsprojekt an der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg Projektleitung: Prof. Dr. Beatrix Borchard Harvestehuder Weg 12 D – 20148 Hamburg

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