Nachod, Hans, 1883-1965

Hans Nachod was born on July 2, 1883 in Vienna, to a family of Jewish cantors that originated in Prague. Nachod joined the Volksoper in Vienna in 1907 under the direction of Alexander von Zemlinsky through 1910, and then worked variously in Mainz, Kiel, Prague and Szczecin through the mid-1920s. Nachod is best known for his role as Waldemar, a role his cousin, Arnold Schoenberg, created for him in the opera Gurrelieder. The two were close friends and corresponded extensively for decades. Nachod was in in Vienna at the time of the Nazi annexation of Austria, and Schoenberg made multiple attempts to sponsor his resettlement in the United States. He relocated to Prague just before Germany took possession of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, but escaped to Great Britain in January of 1939, before the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia continued in March of that year. Nachod lived the rest of his life in Britain, teaching music and continuing to perform. He died on July 29, 1965 in London.