Schmedes, Erik (Anton Julius) (1868 - 1931)

Danish tenor

Erik Schmedes in Rienzi by Wagner (Motisi collection)

Erik Anton Julius Schmedes was born into a family of musicians: his brother Paul was also a tenor, and Hakon became a violinist and Composer. He later became Vaslav Nijinsky's brother-in-law.

Schmedes began his career as a baritone in Wiesbaden in 1891. It was not until 1898 that he switched registers, singing the title role in Wagner 's Siegfried at the Vienna Opera. For 27 years, he remained the favorite tenor of the Viennese public.

During a career that took him from Paris to Berlin, from Munich to Frankfurt-am-Main and from Prague to the Metropolitan Opera of New York, he sang 42 roles in 1130 performances, made numerous recordings and even appeared in two films.

Schmedes is a true Wagnerian Heldentenor, often invited to the Bayreuth Festival, where he is a great success in Siegfried and Parsifal.

In 1924, he retired from the stage, appearing for the last time as Matthias in Kienzl's Evangelimann.

Now a singing teacher, his pupils include soprano Maria Müller and his own daughter, Dagmar Schmedes.

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