Karajan artists: Gottlob Frick – improvising Wagner

Gottlob Frick (1906 – 1994) was a basso profundo at the Vienna State Opera in the 1950s and 60s who performed no fewer than 88 times with Karajan. They worked on a lot of German repertoire together (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner) but also performed Verdi’s “Aida” and Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex”. Their main focus was definitely on Wagner (63 performances). It is remarkable that the collaboration started and ended with “Tannhäuser”, the Wagner opera Karajan performed least often after the war (and the only one he never produced in Salzburg). In 1950 at La Scala, Frick was Reinmar, whereas 14 years later he was Landgrave Hermann in one of Karajan’s last performances at the Vienna State Opera before his dismissal.

Starting with Karajan’s era in Vienna in 1957, Frick started working with him – as Hagen, Hunding, Fafner in “Rheingold” and “Siegfried”, Rocco, Marke, Sarastro and Ramphis. Frick also appeared in two festive concerts to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the Berlin Philharmonic in April 1957 performing Beethoven’s Ninth under Karajan’s baton. Karajan and Frick never worked together in the studio but this occasion (and five opera performances) was recorded live.

In 1958 Frick was Fafner in the new “Rheingold” production. Fasolt was Oskar Czerwenka. During an endless rehearsal, Karajan worked with the orchestra while the two giants were sitting backstage completely costumed. After having waited for hours, Czerwenka took off his giant-shoes and went to the toilet. Naturally that was the moment when Karajan called them on stage. As only one giant appeared, Karajan asked: “Where is Herr Czerwenka?” Frick improvised a Wagner-style reply: “Dort wo sein Drängen Frieden fand, Drangfried ist dieser Ort genannt.” (May be translated: “He is where his urge has at last found peace. Amenity the place is called.”)

—  P.R. Jenkins