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Max Hirzel (1888-1957) was a versatile Swiss tenor whose three decade career was largely confined to the German speaking world. Born Martin Robert Hirzel in Zurich, he first trained to be a mechanical engineer. At the request of his architect father, Hirzel spent several years working as a technician for Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (now Man Se). He studied voice privately during this time, but never gave any serious thought to a career in music. However, the offer of a scholarship caused the young man to abandon engineering and relocate to Dresden. There, he began studies with Dora Erl and the woman who would later become his wife, Melitta Seckbach. Upon the completion of his studies, the young tenor was offered a contract with the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden but requested permission to sing first in his hometown theater, the Stadttheater Zürich. It was here that Hirzel made his debut as Lohengrin on September 30, 1917. So impressed was the management that they offered Hirzel a five year contract. During his five seasons in Zurich, Hirzel sang a variety of roles including Don José in Carmen, Narraboth in Salome, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Alfredo in La Traviata and Hans in The Bartered Bride. His debut with the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden occurred in 1922 and he remained a stalwart member of the company for the next thirteen seasons. A favorite of conductor Fritz Busch, Hirzel was part of Busch’s stock company until the conductor’s departure from the Staatsoper in 1932. During his tenure in Dresden, the tenor created the role of The Officer in the world premiere of Paul Hindemith’s Cardillac in 1926 and The Fisherman in the premiere of Othmar Schoeck’s cantata Vom Fischer un Syner Fru in 1930. He was also given the title of Kammersänger in 1929. Unfortunately, Hirzel’s association with the Staatsoper Dresden…and ANY theater in Germany…came to an abrupt end in 1935. While travelling by rail from Dresden to Basel, Hirzel was engaged in conversation by the train’s porter. Although the tenor usually kept his political views to himself in public, the porter’s torrent of anti-Nazi comments prompted Hirzel to respond in kind. Upon his return to Dresden, Gestapo officers appeared at his door and escorted the bewildered tenor to police headquarters for questioning. One of the agents, not surprisingly, was the talkative porter. Although the tenor was not imprisoned, he was expelled from Germany and banned from performing anywhere in The Third Reich. Hirzel returned to his homeland where he spent the next decade and a half singing with the theaters of Zurich, Basel, Geneva and Bern. The tenor also appeared abroad, including performances in the major houses of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and Budapest, where he was a particular favorite. Hirzel was also scheduled to make an important debut as Lohengrin with London’s Covent Garden in the spring of 1935. Sadly, the tenor developed a bad cold and had to cancel less than two hours before curtain. Frantic, the management tracked down Lauritz Melchior, who rushed to the theater to spell his ailing colleague. No costume could be found to fit the massive Dane, so Melchior sang Lohengrin from the orchestra pit while Hirzel walked the part onstage! Hirzel continued singing well into the 1940s, returning to Dresden for his final stage performance in 1949. The tenor retired to Zurich where he spent his twilight years, dying on May 12, 1957 at the age of 68. Max Hirzel’s repertoire of some 50 roles included Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Canio in Pagliacci, Radames in Aïda, Pedro in Tiefland, Max in Der Freischütz, Florestan in Fidelio, Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer, Siegmund in Die Walküre, Walther in Die Meistersinger and the title roles in Parsifal, Tannhäuser, Otello, Samson et Dalila, Faust and Les Contes d’Hoffmann. His comedic abilities were well displayed in such lighter works as Die Fledermaus, Der Vogelhändler and Abu Hassan and he was an accomplished recitalist. As with his stage career, his activity in the recording studio was interrupted by the Nazis, leaving a proposed 1930s partnership with HMV unfulfilled. Luckily, Hirzel was quite active in the studios of Parlophone, Odéon and the Swiss label Tonkunstplatten Gesellschaft.
