HERBERT JANSSEN - AUTOGRAPH SENTIMENT SIGNED 01/05/1938 CO-SIGNED BY: JAN KIEPURA - HFSID 56019

HERBERT JANSSEN and JAN KIEPURA
Album leaf signed and dated by baritone Herbert Jannsen in 1938 and tenor Jan Kiepura in 1941
Autograph sentiments signed "Alla senorita/[two untranslated lines]/Herbert Janssen/5.1.38" and, on verso, "avec sympathie/Jan Kiepura/1941". Pencil notations on front and back in unknown hand. 4¾x3¼. Smart, good-looking and possessed of a smooth, resounding voice, JANSSEN (1892-1965) (1892-1965) was a leading German baritone during the 1920s and 1930s. He was a member of the the Berlin State Opera (1923-1937) and a common sight at the Bayreuth Festival (1930-1937), with a wide repertory that included Mozart, Verdi (including the Count di Luna in Il trovatore, reportedly one of his favorite roles) and Bizet. He was also a top singer of leider. He was kicked out of Germany by the Nazi Party in 1937. He joined the Metropolitan Opera from 1939 until his retirement in 1952. The Met often tapped him for Wagnerian roles during World War II, when their supply of German singers dried up, although his voice couldnt' handle the roles and he wound up cancelling numerous performances. He remained in New York City after his retirement as a teacher. A Polish tenor with a rich, warm tone who was known for his generosity to the public, KIEPURA (1902-1966) was a popular opera singer in his homeland. He also performed at the Vienna Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera and the Paris Opéra and Opéra Comique, among other houses. A versatile entertainer, Kiepura appeared in 21 movies between 1926, most of them French and German-language, and on Broadway in two productions of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow (1943-1944) and in Poloniase (1945-1946). He married lyric soprano Marta Eggerth in 1936, and the two performed together many times. They were forced to flee to the United States at the start of World War II. Lightly toned and foxed. Show-through touches both signatures. Neatly torn from album at left edge. Otherwise in fine condition.