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210:, made a lucrative offer for him to appear at the Met, he turned it down. He was never asked again. In return, the Viennese were devoted to 'Picci', as he was affectionately known. When the First World War broke out Piccaver as an American citizen was unaffected, though when the United States joined the war in 1917 he was found trying to leave the country but was spared internment if he agreed to continue singing at the Opera. After the war his career at the Vienna State Opera was interrupted by appearances in
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In 1923, for reasons that are not clear, he claimed
British nationality as he was entitled to do as a result of his place of birth, though Alfred Piccaver always considered himself an American. On 31 December 1931 his contract with The Vienna State Opera was terminated as a result of a dispute over
234:'s fledgling television service in 1939. Piccaver also worked as teacher, giving lessons in music and singing, one of his pupils being the tenor Nigel Douglas. After the war, in 1955 he returned to Vienna for the re-opening of the Vienna State Opera House and decided to stay permanently.
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from Prague'. His roles included
Rodolfo (Puccini called him 'my ideal Rodolfo'), Cavaradossi, Canio, Radames, Florestan, Lensky and Walther. He made a large number of recordings by both the acoustic and electrical processes and many of these are available on CD reissues.
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his salary. He continued to live in Vienna and to make guest appearances in opera in
Austria and abroad but with the political situation in Austria worsening he decided to return to Britain in 1937, settling in
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Piccaver had a warm, velvety, lyric tenor voice with a fine cantilena style and excellent legato and diction. Later on it became what an
English critic has described as 'slack muscled' and acquired a
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showed an interest in him. However, he continued to sing with the Prague company for the remainder of his contract and it was not until 6 September 1912 that he gave his first performance with the
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company in Vienna. She was still a teenager when she met
Piccaver. The union later ended in divorce. In 1926, Piccaver married Ria GĂĽnzel, an Austrian dancer. Piccaver for a time had a home in
241:. His coffin was carried in procession from the Protestant Church to the Opera House, where many attended to pay their respects. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra played the funeral march from
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Frederick Herman
Piccaver (1864 - 17 February 1916) and his wife Sarah Ann Sissons. The Piccavers had been farm laborers, but there were also claims of Spanish ancestry dating back to the
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Piccaver's first marriage was to
Baroness Mariette Styrcea (born Marietta Johanny, died 11 Nov 1934), the daughter of an Austrian Lutheran minister. Mariette worked for the
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159:'s touring company that was performing in Prague. He must have impressed Battistini because Piccaver was persuaded to travel with the company to their next venue in
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His studies led to a three-year contract with the
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109:. The school's director Heinrich Conried recognised his considerable vocal ability and in 1907 sent the young Alfred to
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77:. At a young age, Alfred emigrated with his family to the United States of America. The family resettled in
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155:. This variety stood him in good stead, because in 1910, he was invited to appear as a guest in
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Piccaver loved Vienna and the
Viennese way of life, so much so that when the director of the
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He died in his favourite city on 23 September 1958. The
Austrian government gave him a
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561:"PICCAVER MARRIED ABROAD.; American Tenor Secretly Weds Ria Guenzel, Austrian Dancer"
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quality, but in the early years of his prime he was known to the Viennese as 'the
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as a boy soprano. He also became a soloist at the North Reformed Church in
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290:"The Times Record from Troy, New York on September 25, 1958 · Page 47"
32:(5 February 1884 – 23 September 1958) was a British-American operatic
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514:"Times Signal from Zanesville, Ohio on December 14, 1924 · Page 30"
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History of the Tenor / Alfred Piccaver / Sound Clips and Narration
539:"Boston Post from Boston, Massachusetts on July 18, 1920 · Page 7"
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but he had a talent for singing and in 1905 he enrolled at the
43:. He was particularly noted for his performances as Rodolfo in
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222:, in 1924, the only year in which he appeared at this house.
345:"Alfred Piccaver The Complete Electric Recordings 1928-1930"
131:. In the following three years, he sang in operas by
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Gramophone: The world's best classical music reviews
101:Conservatory of Music. Alfred later trained to be
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53:and other popular mainstream operatic roles.
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61:Piccaver was born on 5 February 1884 in the
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409:(in German). 19 April 2015. Archived from
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403:"Alfred Piccaver – Wien Geschichte Wiki"
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214:in 1923, 1924 and 1925 and at London's
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85:. Alfred joined the choir of Albany's
647:People from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
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292:. Newspapers.com. 25 September 1958
662:20th-century American male singers
516:. Newspapers.com. 14 December 1924
95:Emma Willard Conservatory of Music
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372:Ellis Island's Famous Immigrants
667:Burials at Feuerhalle Simmering
593:Recordings with Alfred Piccaver
541:. Newspapers.com. 18 July 1920
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318:. Charleston, South Carolina:
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652:20th-century American singers
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107:Metropolitan School of Opera
87:St. Peter's Episcopal Church
198:, grave of Alfred Piccaver
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597:Ă–sterreichischen Mediathek
351:. Mark Allen Group, London
249:. His ashes are buried at
128:The Merry Wives of Windsor
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316:Children of Ellis Island
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267:Pittsburgh
163:where the
91:Watervliet
355:6 October
243:Beethoven
181:baritonal
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520:15 March
494:cite web
484:19 April
448:cite web
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253:Vienna.
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149:Puccini
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