Roller, Alfred |
| SCENOGRAPHER, COSTUME DESIGNER, PAINTER, GRAPHIC ARTIST (AUSTRIAN EMPIRE) |
|
BORN 2 Oct 1864, Brünn (now: Brno) - DIED 21 Jun 1935, Wien GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Evangelischer Pfarrfriedhof Simmering, 11., Simmeringer Hauptstraße 242 (Gruppe 05, Nummer 40/41) |
|
Alfred Roller studied architecture and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. In 1897 he was a co-founder of the Secession in Vienna and in 1902 he became its president. In 1905 he left the Secession. He was brought to the opera by Gustav Mahler and he designed sets and costumes, until he became the director of the School of Arts and Crafts in 1909. In 1908 he had met the young Adolf Hitler, who wanted to be an architect at the time. He worked for several other theatres before he returned to the opera in 1918. In 1920 he was among the founders of the Festspiele in Salzburg. In 1929 he became a teacher at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. In 1934 Adolf Hitler, now Reichskanzler of Germany, brought him to the Wagner Festspiele in Bayreuth to design a new set for "Parsifal". But the result was something that looked like the original set of 1882 and was a disappointment. At that time Roller was already seriously ill and he died in 1935. Hitler took a liking to his son, but the young man was sent to the front after his name was taken off a list of artists kept by Winnifred Wagner. There he died soon afterwards. Related persons • cooperated with Mahler, Gustav • cooperated with Reinhardt, Max |
| Images | |
 The grave of Alfred Roller at the Evangelischer Friedhof Simmering in Vienna. Picture by androom (18 Aug 2006) |
 The grave of Alfred Roller at the Evangelischer Friedhof Simmering in Vienna. Picture by androom (18 Aug 2006) |
Sources • Hamann, Brigitte, Winifred Wagner oder Hitlers Bayreuth, Piper, München, 2003 |
