Mailbox
This Sunday we reveal the identity of our September mystery man and announce the name of the winner of last month’s quiz. Listeners quoted: Jayanta Chakrabarty, S. J. Agboola, Hans Verner Lollike, Colin Law, Cheng Meng, David Eldridge, M.A.Waheed, Henk Poortvliet, Charles Konecny.
“This month Radio Prague has given us an opportunity to know more about another Czech stalwart – this time in the form of an opera singer who has made his country proud. A medical student-turned opera singer, Joseph Tichatschek's knack for music was evident since childhood. The sheer power and beauty of his voice was the secret of his success. His fame was of such a high order as to be acclaimed and appreciated by music icons like Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt.”
S. J. Agboola listens to Radio Prague in Nigeria:
“The mystery person is: Josef Tichatschek. His original love was medicine. But later in life, he realised that he could do great exploits in the field of music. So, he ended up as one of the greatest singer/musicians in history. Probably, he had the most melodious voice in history. He was so prolific that fellow humans can easily lose count of his numerous musical works. He had the privilege of attaining a ripe age of 79.”
Hans Verner Lollike from Denmark writes:
“Josef Ticháček was in fact the first real heldentenor in the Wagner operas, which is the highest you can get as a male opera singer, I understand. As many others famous people he spent most of his life outside his home country […] on the other hand you can hardly be world-famous in your own country alone.”
And Colin Law from New Zealand explains what a “heldentenor” is:
“Josef was a tenor with a wonderful voice which gained him success and fame. He performed in Germany, Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Wagner admired his singing so much that he wrote the operas Rienzi and Tannhäuser and Lohengrin specifically for Ticháček’s voice. As a result Josef Ticháček is known as the first ‘heldentenor’ and the first of the great Wagnerian tenors. Heldentenor is a rich, powerful and dramatic voice, basically a baritone whose range also includes much of the tenor range.”
Cheng Meng from China wrote:
“Joseph Tichatschek was the creator of Rienzi and Tannhäuser. He was described by Wagner as having a ‘glorious voice and great musical talent’.”
David Eldridge from the United Kingdom adds an interesting detail:
“Wagner and Tichatschek had a close, friendly, working relationship over a long period but Tichatschek had problems in interpreting and delivering his part in Wagner's ‘Tannhäuser’ around 1852. Wagner wrote an essay in 1853 on Tichatschek's problems: ‘On the Performing of Tannhäuser’. Nevertheless, Tichatschek and Wagner remained closely associated into their old age. In 1867 Wagner and Tichatschek worked together on a production of ‘Lohengrin’ for King of Bavaria, Ludwig II. However, the King was not pleased with Tichatchek's performance, which led to a rift between the King and Wagner.”
M.A.Waheed from Oman writes:
“He got voice lessons in Vienna from the Italian tenor Giuseppe Ciccimarra and joined the chorus of the Kamtnertortheater in 1830. He became the Principal tenor at Dresden (a major music centre) where he continued up to 1870. Dresden management presented Lohengrin in Wagner's absence during 1858-1859. He sang in various German premieres of Meyerbeer's operas. He died in Dresden and is buried in the old Catholic cemetery on the Friedrichstrasse.”
“The name of the famous opera singer you are looking for will be Tichatschek. Tichatschek, a tenor originally studied medicine, but he switched to studying professional singing. Wagner admired his voice very much. Tichatschek played roles in works by Gluck, Mozart, Weber and many other composers of that time.”
And finally Charles Konecny from the United States:
“He was one of the great tenors of his time, although some said his only weakness was he lacked the dramatic acting flair that German opera stresses. But Richard Wagner liked him, and who better in German opera to have a recommendation from. He was a Czech who stepped over the border, finding fame in a long operatic career. Also, he is buried in a nicely tended grave site in Dresden.”
Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to find the answer and writing to us. This month the prize from Radio Prague goes to Jenny Cohen in Alabama. My congratulations and my thanks again to everyone who dropped us a line.
For this month’s quiz we will stay with music but we’ll change genres. In October we are looking for the name of a Czech-American jazz guitarist who was born in 1960 in Prague and since the 1980s has been living in the West, performing and also teaching.
Please send us your answers as always to [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague by the end of October. Next week in Mailbox, we’ll be quoting from your regular e-mails and reception reports. Till then, good-bye.
