ORFEO International

News

January 2015

† Waldemar Kmentt

Of the post-war artists who pursued their careers singing the great roles primarily as an ensemble member of a single opera house, it has been claimed that many would today be enjoying an international career. This is certainly the case with Waldemar Kmentt, who died in Vienna on 21 January 2015 at the age of 85.
Waldemar Kmentt
Foto: FayerTo be sure, Kmentt also enjoyed great successes away from his home, the Vienna State Opera, such as a grandiose Walther von Stolzing in the Bayreuth Meistersinger in the late 1960s, or as the tenor soloist in Mahler’s Lied von der Erde under Rafael Kubelik at the Salzburg Festival in 1959 (also available on Orfeo). But while such occasions were certainly highpoints of his career, they remained mere “excursions” away from his base at the Vienna State Opera, where for more than 30 years his repertoire ranged from buffo roles such as Jaquino via the lyrical (Mozart) repertoire to spinto and lyric-dramatic roles. His recordings are not just a source of pleasure, but are instructive of a healthy vocal development – and are thus also a reflection of his whole career, not just as a singer but also as a teacher at the Opera Studio of the Vienna Conservatory.

Opera

C 770 091 B Wiener Staatsoper Live 1955-1996 Szenen aus: Idomeneo, Così fan tutte, Iphigenie auf Tauris, Fidelio, La Cenerentola, Faust, Hoffmanns Erzählungen, Die verkaufte Braut, Jenufa, The Rake's Progress, Ariadne auf Naxos, Der Rosenkavalier Waldemar Kmentt, Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Krombholc, Böhm, Stein, Erede, Prêtre, Krips, Danon, Bernstein

C 753 084 L Wagner, Richard Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Adam, Ridderbusch, Feiersinger, Slembeck, Hemsley, Nienstedt, Kmentt, Esser, Jones, Martin, Moll; Chor der Bayreuther Festspiele; Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Karl Böhm

C 734 082 I Strauss, Richard Capriccio Della Casa, Kerns, Kmentt, Berry, Wiener, Ludwig, Klein, Popp, Wunderlich, Pernerstorfer; Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Georges Prêtre

C 765 082 I Strauss, Richard Intermezzo Steffek, Prey, Gruber, Poell, Hellwig, Kmentt, Czerwenka, Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Joseph Keilberth

C 785 092 I Smetana, Bed?ich Die verkaufte Braut Seefried, Kmentt, Czerwenka, Dickie, Konetzni, Anday, Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Berislav Klobu?ar

C 786 102 I Lortzing, Albert Der Wildschütz Seefried, Holm, Rössel-Majdan, Kmentt, Völker, Dönch, Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Heinz Wallberg

C 813 102 I Beethoven, Ludwig van Fidelio Mödl, Dermota, Schöffler, Weber, Seefried, Kmentt, Kamann, Terkal, Jerger, Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Karl Böhm

C 771 082 I Beethoven, Ludwig van Fidelio Goltz, Zampieri, Schöffler, Edelmann, Jurinac, Kmentt, Zaccaria, Majkut, Berry, Chor der Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

Concert

C 820 102 B Schubert, Franz
Mahler, Gustav Symphonie No. 4 "Tragische"
Das Lied von der Erde Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Waldemar Kmentt, Wiener Philharmoniker

C 729 081 B Beethoven, Ludwig van Symphonie No. 9 d-Moll op.125 Della Casa, Rössel-Majdan, Kmentt, Edelmann, Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien; Wiener Symphoniker, Karajan