Hüsch, Gerhard (Heinrich Wilhelm Fritz)

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Hüsch, Gerhard (Heinrich Wilhelm Fritz)

Hüsch, Gerhard (Heinrich Wilhelm Fritz), esteemed German baritone and pedagogue; b. Hannover, Feb. 2, 1901; d. Munich, Nov. 23, 1984. He received his training from Hans Emge in Hannover. In 1923 he made his operatic debut as Lieber au in Lortzing’s Der Waffenschmied in Osnabrück. After singing in Bremen, he was a member of the Cologne Opera (1927–30). He then went to Berlin and sang with the City and State Operas (193CM2); he also appeared in Dresden, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Milan, Bayreuth (1930–31), and London (Covent Garden debut as Falke, 1930; returned there, 1931 and 1938). In later years, Husch became well known as an exponent of lieder. He also taught voice in Munich.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire