Der Ewige segne euch

Gerhard Stehmann (b. 8 May 1866, Seiffen, Germany; d. 5 July 1926, Vienna), bass-baritone
Gerhard Stehmann came to the Vienna Court Opera in 1899. On 29 April 1901, Stehmann sang under Mahler’s direction in the restaging of The Queen of Sheba by Karl Goldmark (the production also featured Demuth, Winkelmann, Hesch, Elizza, Mildenburg and Kurz). He also went on to sing in the restaging of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) on 29 January 1906 (alongside Slezak, Kurz, Forst, Preuss and Hesch). On 18 March 1907, he sang on the last new production of the Mahler era in Gluck's Iphigenia in Aulis (which featured stage design by Alfred Roller), along with his colleagues from the ensemble Gutheil-Schoder, Mildenburg, Weidt, Schmedes, Demuth and Hesch.

Leo Slezak (b. 18 August 1873, Šumperk, Czech Republic; d. 1 June 1946, Rottach-Egern, Germany), tenor.
Leo Slezak joined the Vienna Court Opera in 1901. He soon rose to become an audience favourite and one of the most sought-after members of the ensemble. Although the two men criticised each other on numerous occasions, the overall relationship between Slezak and Mahler during the latter’s tenure as director must have been very strong, because Mahler cast Slezak in several premieres. Slezak starred on many opening nights, including as Raoul in Giacomo Meyerbeer’s The Huguenots on 29 October 1902; as Eleazar in Jacques Fromental Halévy’s The Jewess on 13 October 1903 (a performance that also featured Förster-Lauterer, Hesch, Preuss and Elizza); as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte on 24 November 1905 (alongside Hesch, Kurz, Hilgermann, Demuth, and Gutheil-Schoder) and Belmonte in Mozart’s Seraglio on 29 January 1906 (alongside Hesch, Kurz, Hilgermann, Demuth, and Gutheil-Schoder).
Leo Slezak also dedicated a chapter to Gustav Mahler in his memoirs, which includes plenty of anecdotes, liberally sprinkled with humorous embellishments. “These Mozart cycles, Il Seraglio, Così fan tutte, The Magic Flute, Fidelio, The Huguenots, The Jewess, all the restagings – they were the source of so many ideas in rehearsals! Every comment [Mahler made] was a gift for the rest of your life. […] His approach to work got absolutely everything out of the singer. The atmosphere was generally very jolly and cheerful, but when Hesch, Demuth and I were standing on stage performing Mozart, with Mahler on the podium, everyone went around in silence, completely preoccupied with the thought that things might not go exactly to plan. If everything worked out well, Mahler would be barely recognisable afterwards; he’d come up to us on the stage and hand out Zwanzigheller coins [a Heller was worth 1/100th of an Austro-Hungarian Krone].” Slezak was more than a little nervous at his first audition, too. As he put it, “Here I was, this chap from Brno, standing on the stage with my knees shaking [and I sang ...] Lohengrin – ‘Heil, König Heinrich...’ Before I had even started, a voice screamed at me from the darkened stalls: ‘Just to get one thing clear, if you mess me around, you will be out on your ear!’ These tender words of encouragement came from director Mahler himself. I blacked out at that point.” Despite this tough initiation into Mahler’s working methods, Slezak’s respect for him as a conductor and as an artist shone through, as the following extract shows: “In May [1911], when I came back from America, I went to visit [Mahler] in the Löw sanatorium in Vienna. It was too late. I was not allowed to see him by that point. He died that very night. If I was ever unfair towards him, I beg forgiveness. Today, only one feeling remains in my memory – that of the most heartfelt gratitude.”

Elise Elizza (real name: Elisabeth Letztergroschen, b. 6 January 1870, Vienna; d. 3 June 1926, Vienna), soprano
Member of the Vienna Court Opera (Hofoper), 1895 – 1919
"... if Elizza, the goose, is stupidly knocking things over and Slezak is careless, conducting an ensemble properly is just impossible." (Gustav Mahler to Bruno Walter, 1901). Mahler made this comment despite being convinced of the soprano’s abilities. She sang at the premiere of his Das klagende Lied (Song of Lamentation) in Vienna in 1901, and he also tried to get her to perform in the premiere of his 8th Symphony in Munich in 1910. The quote above, taken from a letter, shines a light on Mahler’s uncompromising artistic demands; demands he expected to be met regardless of personal inclinations. The standards he set himself were every bit as high.

Richard Mayr (b. 18 November 1877, Henndorf, Austria; d. 1 December 1935, Vienna), bass.
Gustav Mahler brought Richard Mayr to the Vienna Court Opera in 1902, as soon as he completed his training as a singer. Mayr sang in the new production of Richard Strauss’ Feuersnot on 5 June 1905 and in the premiere of Die neugierigen Frauen (The Inquisitive Women) by Wolf-Ferrari on 4 October 1905, as well as in a number of other roles under Mahler. Richard Mayer also sang under Mahler’s direction in the world premiere of his 8th Symphony in Munich in 1910.