Karlheinz Böhm, Son Of Karl Böhm And Thea Linhard, Passes Away

Karlheinz Böhm (center) with his wife Almaz (left) and daughter Aida (right).

Böhm played opposite Romy Schneider in Sissi.

"Karlheinz Böhm (March 16, 1928 – May 29, 2014), sometimes referred to as Carl Boehm or Karl Boehm, was an Austrian actor. He took part in 45 films and became well known in Austria and Germany for his role as Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in the Sissi trilogy and internationally for his role as Mark, the psychopathic protagonist of Peeping Tom, directed by Michael Powell. He was the founder of the trust 'Menschen für Menschen,' which helps people in need in Ethiopia. He also received honorary Ethiopian citizenship in 2003. Having two citizenships, he saw himself as a world citizen: His father was the Austrian conductor Karl Böhm, his mother the German-born soprano Thea Linhard. He was an only child, and spent his youth in Darmstadt, Hamburg and Dresden. In Hamburg he attended elementary school and the Kepler-Gymnasium (a grammar school). A faked medical certificate enabled him to

His father, Karl Böhm, stands at right while
composer Richard Strauss plays the piano

emigrate to Switzerland in 1939, where he attended the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, a boarding school. In 1946, he moved to Graz with his parents, where he graduated from high school the same year. He originally intended to become a pianist but received poor feedback when he auditioned. His father urged him to study English and German language and literary studies, followed by studies of history of arts for one semester in Rome after which he quit and returned to Vienna to take acting lessons with Prof. Helmut Krauss. From 1948 to 1976 he acted in about 45 films and also in theater. With Romy Schneider, he starred in the Sissi trilogy as the Emperor Franz Joseph,

Natalie Dessay Exits Opera Stage With A Bitter Vibe

The Examiner reports on the French soprano's plans to retire. She sounds in the article a bit put off by what has been an auspicious career. Read some highlights:

"In September, Natalie will be in Toulouse to sing Massenet’s Manon. It may be her last appearance on the operatic stage. 'Yes, I think so. I did my real 'debut' in Toulouse, in the chorus. I had started off as an acting student. That was my real passion. That is my real passion. It’s just a detour of thirty-three years—to finally get back to my first goal. There’s nothing left for me to sing. I’ve done most of the roles I could do. I don’t want to play Juliette. At my age? Please! Or Lucia or Adina or anything else like that. That’s why I’m quitting. You have to love your repertoire. For a while I thought it was fun, but no. On to something else.'

'Along the way,” I asked, 'who were the coloratura sopranos that inspired you?'
'There was no coloratura, because I hate that kind of voice. I never had any problem with the repertoire. My idol is, was, and will be Maria Callas. That’s not very original, but that’s it. Also Renata Scotto. I worked with her. She’s fantastic as a teacher. I like the actresses. I don’t care about the voice. A beautiful voice in a body that doesn’t act does not interest me more than five minutes. So, I’m not a good audience member for opera.' [Source]


A performance from 1995 of the soprano singing Lakme's "Où va la jeune Hindoue?" demonstrates that there was much to admire in her singing whether she loved it or not.