List (real name, Fleissig), Emanuel
List (real name, Fleissig), Emanuel
List (real name, Fleissig), Emanuel, noted Austrian-born American bass; b. Vienna, March 22, 1886; d. there, June 21, 1967. He was a boy chorister at the Theater-an-der-Wien. Following voice training with Steger in Vienna, he toured Europe as a member of a comic vocal quartet. He went to the U.S. and appeared in vaudeville, burlesque, and minstrel shows. After further vocal studies with Zuro in N.Y., he returned to Vienna in 1920 and in 1922 made his operatic debut as Gounod’s Méphistophélès at the Volksoper. He then sang at Berlin’s Städtische Oper (1923–25) and State Opera (1925–33), London’s Covent Garden (1925; 1934–36), the Salzburg Festivals (1931–35), and the Bayreuth Festival (1933). List made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on Dec. 27,1933, as the Landgrave. While remaining on its roster until 1948, he also appeared in San Francisco and Chicago (1935–37) and gave lieder recitals. He was again on the Metropolitan Opera’s roster in 1949–50. In 1952 he returned to Vienna. List was especially admired for the rich vocal resources he brought to such roles as Osmin, the Commendatore, Sarastro, Rocco, King Marke, Hagen, Pogner, Hunding, and Baron Ochs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire