Guest
Karl Jörn (1873-1947) was an extraordinary tenor whose career spanned some three decades on both sides of the Atlantic. Born in Riga, Latvia to a Baltic German shoemaker and his wife, Jörn discovered his vocal talents as a teen but was unable to afford lessons due to his family’s financial situation. This all changed when he was heard by Baron von Dellinghausen, a wealthy patron of the arts, who offered to underwrite the young tenor’s vocal training. At 18, Jörn began his studies in Riga with tenor Georg Schütte-Harmsen. He later travelled to Berlin to work with celebrated teacher Luise Ress, who helped him solidify his technique. In 1896, the 23-year-old Jörn made his debut as Lionel in Flotow’s Martha at the Stadttheater in Freiburg. He remained with the company for the next two seasons, singing a variety of roles. After leaving Freiburg in 1898, Jörn spent a season with the Stadtttheater of Zurich, followed by three seasons in Hamburg. In 1902, the tenor was engaged by the Berlin Hofoper where he was to remain for the next six seasons. His remarkable versatility soon made him an indispensable member of the ensemble. Jörn sang everything from the romantic heroes from the French and Italian repertoire to comedic and villainous roles…with a healthy dose of Mozart thrown in for good measure. When this versatility began to be perceived as a lack of focus, it became a slight hindrance to the young tenor’s career. However, as Jörn began to concentrate on more dramatic repertoire, particularly the operas of Richard Wagner, his career escalated. Jörn began his association with London’s Covent Garden in 1905 and was a regular visitor to the company until 1908. He also sang in Brussels and Amsterdam during this period, while continuing his work with the Berlin Hofoper. The tenor’s Metropolitan Opera debut came about on January 22, 1909 as Walther von Stolzing in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger. Although reviews were mixed, Jörn became a valuable member of the company and remained with the Met for the next six seasons. Here, Jörn’s versatility was put to good use in nearly 200 performances of a wide variety of works including Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Fidelio, Pagliacci, Faust, Manon, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Die Zauberflöte, Königskinder, the Met premiere of The Bartered Bride and the U.S. premiere of Der Rosenkavalier. He also sang several Sunday Evening Concerts as well as a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Following an April 19, 1914 concert performance, Jörn bade farewell to the Met and returned to Europe. Following Bayreuth’s lifting of its monopoly on Wagner’s Parsifal, Jörn sang the first performance of the opera at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1914. Although the tenor was much in demand in Germany, he had developed an affinity for the U.S. After only a year in Berlin, Jörn sailed back across the Atlantic and landed in New York. He applied for U.S. citizenship, which was granted in 1916. Although the 43-year-old tenor was essentially retired from active stage work, he continued to cash in on his Met pedigree by giving concert and recital programs and even appeared in vaudeville throughout the U.S. By the 1920s, Jörn had settled in Denver, where he worked as a voice teacher. Sadly, a series of bad investments (as well as a very costly divorce) stripped him of his fortune and he found himself forgotten and living in poverty. Luckily, his former colleague, Johanna Gadski, had NOT forgotten him. Gadski’s German Opera Company was in need of a seasoned Heldentenor for its 1928/29 touring season and the veteran soprano approached Jörn. Desperate for cash, the 55-year-old singer agreed and spent the next three years touring the North American provinces as Lohengrin, Tannhäuser and Tristan. Both public and critics alike warmly received the aging tenor, who was still in excellent form. However, Gadski’s death in an automobile accident in early 1932 put an end to the endeavor. Jörn briefly tried teaching in New York but drifted back to Denver, where he taught voice for the final fifteen years of his life. It was there that he passed away on December 19, 1947, just two weeks shy of his 75th birthday. Karl Jörn was one of those rare European artists who seemed equally at home in German, French, Italian and even English. His many recordings, made between 1904 and 1916 for G&T, Columbia, . and Edison reveal an almost chameleon like voice that easily changes color to suit the music he is interpreting. He was a remarkably expressive artist and his readings of songs and arias are always uniquely nuanced.
