Page - 82 - in Entangled Entertainers - Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

82 | Entangled Entertainers In fact, she was so popular among audiences that Brill refused to remove her from his program, choosing instead to pay the fi nes that he incurred.13 Th roughout the confl ict, no mention was made of the fact that Tieber was Jewish—not even the slightest allusion. Even if Volkssänger and singspiel venue directors personally entertained anti-Jewish sentiment, expressing such attitudes seems to have re- mained largely taboo. Th erefore, the clash of disputing parties cannot serve as the sole explanation for the antisemitic statements made in the context of the Volkssänger war. In the following, I discuss the cause of the antisemitic imputations made over the course of this confl ict. My analysis also illustrates how antisemitism managed to take hold in a milieu that seems for the most part to have been far less receptive to it than other spheres of society. Th e Volkssänger Meeting at the Goldener Luchs on 27 December 1901 Th e fi rst person who spoke at the meeting held on 27 December 1901 was Karl Recher, a “conductor and master pianist” by profession.14 In his remarks, he spe- cifi cally addressed the principal item on the meeting’s agenda, that is, the pro- hibition of German-language performances in Hungary. But the next speaker, Karl Rötzer (1862–1908), deviated from the p rogram. He focused instead on the general diffi culties that Viennese Volkssänger faced. Rötzer was one of the most prominent members of his profession. He distinguished himself not least on ac- count of his prolifi c output. By the turn of the century, he had already written about a thousand songs, farces, and short scenes.15 He was also well connected and held a number of honorary offi ces. He served as secretary of the League of Viennese Volkssänger and Performers ( Zwölferbund der Wiener Volkssänger und Artisten), which organized fund-raisers to support disabled members.16 At any rate, Rötzer enjoyed the respect of his colleagues, and perhaps that was why no one wanted to interrupt his remarks and steer the meeting back to its original purpose. In retrospect, this may have been a sensible decision. Rötzer’s remarks were the starting point for many subsequent discussions about the social and professional conditions of Viennese Volkssänger—a larger conversation that took place over the course of the following months. Th ese debates initiated a reform in the law concerning popular singers, which in turn introduced a series of service to benefi t and support their members. Rötzer was probably able to digress from the agenda so easily because the so- cial situation of the Volkssänger was in fact very much in need of improvement. Even the most successful among them did not lead carefree lives. Th ey, too, were often seized by the subliminal fear of one day losing the favor of the public and falling victim to poverty. Karl Spacek, who had organized the meeting at the This open access edition has been made available under a CC BY 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched.