Adele Kern

Adele Kern real name Adele Kern-Klein (25 November 1901 – 6 May 1980) was a German operatic and operetta coloratura soprano. She was known for her technical perfection and joy of playing. From 1927 to 1935, she sang at the Salzburg Festival as well as at the state operas of Vienna, Berlin and Munich.

She was one of the impressive ranks of Austrian and German soprani leggeri who made international careers in the 1920s and 1930s, including Irma Beilke, Erna Berger, Irene Eisinger, Ria Ginster, Maria Ivogün, Fritzi Jokl and Lotte Schöne.

Born in Munich, Kern studied with the famous coloratura soprano Hermine Bosetti (1875–1936). The pupil followed the path and roles of her teacher - both at the opera houses of Munich and Vienna and as Ännchen and Zerbinetta.

She made her debut as early as 1924 at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann. There are different indications about the duration of her engagement in Munich. She was the first coloratura soprano to move to the Städtische Opernhaus in Frankfurt, where she had a contract until 1928. There, the ambitious conductor Clemens Krauss was artistic director from 1924 to 1929, and Lothar Wallerstein acted as principal conductor. The two created a new, production-oriented musical theatre in Frankfurt and took care of the musical and dramatic development of the young singer. Kern was to be regarded as a Clemens Krauss singer for many years (and she later worked at the state operas of Vienna, Berlin and Munich during his time as director). In Frankfurt she was already able to acquire numerous roles of her later very extensive role repertoire. In February 1926 she was also involved in the premiere of an opera by Bernhard Sekles.