List, Emanuel (1888 – 1967)

bass Austrian naturalized American

Emanuel List as Gurnemanz in R. Wagner 's Parsifal in 1931, autographed photo (coll.PM)

Emanuel List, whose real name was Emanuel Fleissig, was already a member of the Theater an der Wien chorus at the age of 17, but then chose to travel with a vocal quartet through Europe and on to Australia and New Zealand. From 1914 to 1921, he lived in the United States, and it was not until he returned to Austria that he began his career as an opera singer.

In 1922, he made his debut at the Vienna Volksoper as Mephisto in Gounod 's " Faust ", before moving to Berlin, where he took part in the creation of several roles between 1924 and 1934.

His international career began at this time, and he was also invited to the Salzburg Festival (1931, 1934/1935) and the Bayreuth Festival (1933).

His repertoire mainly includes the roles of bass in operas by Richard Wagner, but he also performs roles in operas by Mozart, Beethoven, Smetana's Halévy , Verdi, Richard Strauss and Johann Strauss fils.

Unlike other artists of Jewish origin, Emanuel List was not immediately dismissed from his engagement at the Berlin State Opera in 1933, but nevertheless had to leave Germany in 1934.

He sang at New York's Metropolitan Opera until his retirement in 1950.

Discover the artist's world through various documents: each image opens the door to one of his interpretations, his portraits in civilian clothes, his autographs or press articles about him from the period