Rothmüller, (Aron) Marko
Rothmüller, (Aron) Marko
Rothmüller, (Aron) Marko , Croatian baritone and teacher; b. Trnjani, Dec. 31, 1908; d. Bloomington, Ind., Jan. 20, 1993. He studied in Zagreb, then took lessons in singing with Franz Steiner in Vienna, and also had lessons in composition with Alban Berg. He made his operatic debut as Ottokar in Der Freischütz at the Schiller Theater in Hamburg-Altona in 1932. He was a member of the opera in Zagreb (1932–34) and Zürich (1935–47), and also with the Covent Garden Opera in London (1939; 1948–55). He sang with the N.Y.C. Opera (1948–52); also at the Glyndebourne and Edinburgh festivals (1949–52); made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. on Jan. 22, 1959, as Kothner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; appeared there again in 1960 and 1964. He taught at the Ind. Univ. School of Music in Bloomington from 1955 to 1979. He was distinguished in Wagnerian roles; also sang leading roles in modern works, including Wozzeck in Berg’s opera. He wrote some chamber music and songs. Rothmüller publ. an interesting vol., Die Musik der Juden (Zürich, 1951; Eng. tr., London, 1953; 2nd ed., rev., 1967).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire