Peter Anders (1908
– 1954) was a highly regarded tenor
in Germany during his lifetime – and
still is in some quarters. Director
Max Reinhardt found him in the chorus
of a Berlin theatre and hired him for
a production, where he at once made
his mark. This was in 1931. Within a
year he was singing minor and major
lyric parts in a variety of German opera
houses. In 1937, not yet 30, he came
to the Munich State Opera, where he
sang Cavaradossi and Lenski. He made
recordings in the 1930s for Telefunken.
Many years ago I found a 10 inch LP
with his Mozart arias and was greatly
impressed. I still keep it. After the
war he was persuaded to take on heavier
parts, some of which are represented
on this disc. During this period, the
early 1950s, his career seemed to be
heading towards international stardom:
guest appearances in Florence, Edinburgh,
Vienna, London and he was scheduled
to make his debut at the MET, when he
was killed in a car accident, only 46
years old.
The
present disc gives a good idea of his
capacity in some significant parts.
The Weber and Beethoven arias Electrola
recordings, the Meistersinger, Traviata
and Pagliacci are from Deutsche
Grammophon, the rest comprise radio
broadcasts from Baden-Baden. The odd
man out is the aria from The Bartered
Bride, which is also the oldest,
recorded in Berlin in 1950.
"Jugendlich
Heldentenor" is the label I would
put on him, and typical examples of
this "Fach" are the first
five arias. His is a manly, smooth and
quite beautiful voice with a timbre
not dissimilar to Wolfgang Windgassen’s.
As heard on these excerpts it is also
a bit uneven and too often pinched at
Peter Anders (tenor), Sena Jurinac (soprano),
Orchester der Städtischen Oper Berlin/Arthur
Rother; Südwestfunk-Orchester, Baden-Baden/Otto
Ackermann; Württembergisches Staatsorchester,
Stuttgart/Ferdinand Leitner; Münchener
Philharmoniker/Leopold Ludwig & heinrich
Hollreiser; RIAS-Unterhaltungsorchester, Berlin/Kurt
Gaebel