Reinhold Fritz

Reinhold Fritz was a German bass-baritone who trained as a goldsmith before beginning voice studies in Stuttgart in 1904. He joined the Stuttgart Court Opera as an apprentice in 1908, became an ensemble member within a year, and remained for twenty-five years, made a Kammersänger in 1913. He created the Truffaldino in the premiere of Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos in 1912, and roles in the premieres of Siegfried Wagner's An allem ist Hütchen schuld! in 1917 and Hindemith's Das Nusch-Nuschi in 1921. Dismissed in 1933 under the Nazi regime because his wife was Jewish, he was given a farewell performance that December and excluded from the stage until a brief return in 1945 and 1946.