Page - 85 - in Entangled Entertainers - Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

Jewishness and the Viennese Volkssänger | 85 time, Hirsch managed a variety show in Koller’s Concert Hall (Koller’s Con- certsaal) located on Mariahilferstrasse and had “gu ests” perform there.30 When Hirsch attempted to respond t o Berg during the meeting, the mood escalated. Th e tense atmosphere was further fueled by Karl Spacek’s claim that Hirsch was a liar. When Hirsch fi nally regained the group’s attention, he steered the discussion back to the original agenda. He noted that there was really little that they could do to counteract the decision of the Hungarian authorities. As Hirsch saw it, the only measure that could motivate them to rethink their decision was a ban on Hungarian Volkssänger performing in Vienna. He formulated his suggestion with rather heartfelt words: “If the German colleagues are expelled from Hungary, then it is time to take a stand and not rest until the last ‘gypsy’ [Hirsch’s pejorative term for the Hungarians] has been driven from Vienna.”31 Th e excitement over the Hungarian authorities seemed ultimately to have been unnecessary. After Hirsch spoke, K arl Hauser (1851–1927) took the fl oor and delivered good news.32 He announced that he had received a telegram from Budapest, sent by Josef Modl. In the telegram, Modl announced that a delegation of popular singers from Vienna had auditioned before the Hungarian authorities, the result being that German-language performances were once again allowed to take place. With the telegram, the assembly’s principal matter to discuss—but not the meeting itself—became irrelevant. As the various remarks from the meeting that I have mentioned here demonstrate, Viennese Volkssänger faced a number of prob- lems. Th e meeting’s participants agreed to a petition that summarized the social and professional problems under discussion and called for improvements. Th e petition requested that Viennese authorities award all future Volkssänger licenses for life. Th ese licenses, furthermore, should only be awarded to persons who had previously worked in Vienna for ten years. Th e petition also asked for a stipula- tion that each licensee must use the license for their own performances (rather than leasing the license to a third party). Th e performing singers’ petition also asked that foreign actors and musicians be prevented from performing in Vienna for more than one month. Each Volkssänger troupe would be required to hire at least six licensed Volkssänger and no more than four unlicensed colleagues.33 On 2 January 1902, a deputation representing the Volkssänger submitted their petition to Governor Erich von Kielmannsegg (1847–1923). He listened to ad- ditional complaints that they brought to his attention and then promised to press for their proposed changes.34 Conclusion: Th e Meeting at the Goldener Luchs Th e meeting held on 27 December 1901 provides us a rare but very illuminating look into the social situation of Viennese Volkssänger. It underscores the bureau- This open access edition has been made available under a CC BY 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched.