Heinrich Conried

September 13, 1855 (age 53)

Bielsko-Biała, Poland

Conried early exhibited talent as an actor and was enrolled with the company of the Hofburg Theatre in Vienna at the age of eighteen, later becoming a leading character actor with traveling companies. For one season he managed the Stadt Theatre in Bremen. In 1877 or 1878 he came to America to take charge of the Germania Theatre in New York City, where he used the name Heinrich Conned both on and off the stage. He soon became co-manager of the Thalia Theatre, bringing over the famous German actor, von Possart, the first of a number of German stage celebrities for whose introduction to the American public he was responsible. In 1892 he took over the Irving Place Theatre, making it the center of theatre-going activity for the German- Americans of the city, then sufficiently numerous to support an excellent German stock company. To add lustre to the regular repertory, which included German classics and modern comedy, Conried invited as guest players some of the foremost German actors of the day, among them Sonenthal, Barney, Sorma, Odilon, and Schratt. The excellence of the productions at the Irving Place Theatre gained him a large American support for his company, and he secured countrywide recognition through performances of the classics at the larger universities, interest in which was enhanced through lectures which he delivered. During this period, he also gave occasional spirited performances of operettas by Strauss, Milloecker, Suppé, and others, and in 1898 staged an elaborate production of Humperdinck’s Die Koenigskinder, in its original form as a drama with incidental music and songs. In addition to this, he found time to assist Rudolph Aronson in the production of light opera at the Casino Theatre in its best days. In 1903 he was appointed manager of the Metropolitan Opera House (succeeding Maurice Grau), a position which he filled for five years. He inherited from his predecessor a brilliant list of singers, and added to the roster many others of equal renown, including Caruso, Chaliapin, Ternina, Fremstad, and Farrar. He also brought over Mottl and Mahler as conductors. His outstanding single achievement at the Opera House was the first performance, outside of Bayreuth, of Wagner’s Parsifal, which took place on December 24, 1903. The publicity surrounding this event was unprecedented in the annals of opera; praise and dispraise were about equally distributed. There was, moreover, some futile litigation by the Wagner heirs to restrain the production. But all of this helped to make the production a financial success of the first magnitude. There were eleven performances in all, outside of the regular season, the receipts for which are reported to have been $186, 308. Next in importance was his production of Madame Butterfly by Puccini, brought out with an excellent cast under the inspiring presence of the composer, and Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, to which the composer also lent the dignity of his presence. Con- ried’s use of the Opera House for elaborate productions of light opera—Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (in his second season) and Zigeunerbaron (in his third)—aroused considerable criticism. As years wore on, there appeared dissension in the ranks of the directors of the Opera, which came to a head with the production of Richard Strauss’s Salomé. This was performed only once, and the directors of the real-estate company owning the Opera House put their caveat on its repetition. In the last two years of his régime, Conried encountered competition from Oscar Hammefstem who had set up a rival company in the Manhattan Opera House, near by, which threatened serious results to the monopoly theretofore enjoyed by the Metropolitan. The competition was enlivened by personal quarrels over some of the artists who were enticed away from Ilammerstein. The increasing difficulties of the situation, and his own ill health, led Conried to resign his position in February 1908, leaving soon for Austria in quest of renewed health. He died there at Meran (Now Italy), in the Austrian Tyrol, a year later.

Heinrich Conried

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Background

Heinrich Conried was born on September 13, 1855 at Bielitz, Austria ( now Bielsko-Biała, Poland). He was of Jewish parentage, the son of Joseph and Gretchen Cohn.

Education

Conried received his early education from local tutors and later graduated from Shoefterfield College.

Career

Conried early exhibited talent as an actor and was enrolled with the company of the Hofburg Theatre in Vienna at the age of eighteen, later becoming a leading character actor with traveling companies. For one season he managed the Stadt Theatre in Bremen.

In 1877 or 1878 he came to America to take charge of the Germania Theatre in New York City, where he used the name Heinrich Conned both on and off the stage. He soon became co-manager of the Thalia Theatre, bringing over the famous German actor, von Possart, the first of a number of German stage celebrities for whose introduction to the American public he was responsible.

In 1892 he took over the Irving Place Theatre, making it the center of theatre-going activity for the German- Americans of the city, then sufficiently numerous to support an excellent German stock company. To add lustre to the regular repertory, which included German classics and modern comedy, Conried invited as guest players some of the foremost German actors of the day, among them Sonenthal, Barney, Sorma, Odilon, and Schratt. The excellence of the productions at the Irving Place Theatre gained him a large American support for his company, and he secured countrywide recognition through performances of the classics at the larger universities, interest in which was enhanced through lectures which he delivered.

During this period, he also gave occasional spirited performances of operettas by Strauss, Milloecker, Suppé, and others, and in 1898 staged an elaborate production of Humperdinck’s Die Koenigskinder, in its original form as a drama with incidental music and songs. In addition to this, he found time to assist Rudolph Aronson in the production of light opera at the Casino Theatre in its best days.

In 1903 he was appointed manager of the Metropolitan Opera House (succeeding Maurice Grau), a position which he filled for five years. He inherited from his predecessor a brilliant list of singers, and added to the roster many others of equal renown, including Caruso, Chaliapin, Ternina, Fremstad, and Farrar. He also brought over Mottl and Mahler as conductors.

His outstanding single achievement at the Opera House was the first performance, outside of Bayreuth, of Wagner’s Parsifal, which took place on December 24, 1903. The publicity surrounding this event was unprecedented in the annals of opera; praise and dispraise were about equally distributed. There was, moreover, some futile litigation by the Wagner heirs to restrain the production. But all of this helped to make the production a financial success of the first magnitude. There were eleven performances in all, outside of the regular season, the receipts for which are reported to have been $186, 308.

Next in importance was his production of Madame Butterfly by Puccini, brought out with an excellent cast under the inspiring presence of the composer, and Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, to which the composer also lent the dignity of his presence. Con- ried’s use of the Opera House for elaborate productions of light opera—Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (in his second season) and Zigeunerbaron (in his third)—aroused considerable criticism.

As years wore on, there appeared dissension in the ranks of the directors of the Opera, which came to a head with the production of Richard Strauss’s Salomé. This was performed only once, and the directors of the real-estate company owning the Opera House put their caveat on its repetition. In the last two years of his régime, Conried encountered competition from Oscar Hammefstem who had set up a rival company in the Manhattan Opera House, near by, which threatened serious results to the monopoly theretofore enjoyed by the Metropolitan. The competition was enlivened by personal quarrels over some of the artists who were enticed away from Ilammerstein. The increasing difficulties of the situation, and his own ill health, led Conried to resign his position in February 1908, leaving soon for Austria in quest of renewed health. He died there at Meran (Now Italy), in the Austrian Tyrol, a year later.

Achievements

Heinrich Conried was remembered for his years of fruitful work at the Irving Place Theatre and Metropolitan Opera House and the invigorating influence of his theatre’s standards on the culture of the country. Among his achievements at the time were the production of over one thousand plays, of which the most notable were the production of Parsifal by Wagner and Madame Butterfly by Puccini.

Works

The San Francisco Season of Grand Opera under the Direction of Mr. Heinrich Conried and by His Entire Company of 250 Artists from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York: Grand Opera House - Nine Evenings and Three Matinees - Souvenir Catalogue The San Francisco Season of Grand Opera under the Direction of Mr. Heinrich Conried and by His Entire Company of 250 Artists from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York: Grand Opera House - Nine Evenings and Three Matinees - Souvenir Catalogue

book
- The San Francisco Season of Grand Opera under the Direction of Mr. Heinrich Conried and by His Entire Company of 250 Artists from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York: Grand Opera House - Nine Evenings and Three Matinees - Souvenir Catalogue

Connections

In 1884 Conried married Augusta Sperling.

Father:: Joseph Cohn
Mother:: Gretchen Cohn
Spouse:: Augusta Sperling

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