Apelt, Arthur

Conductor, General Music Director

Born: 25.08.1907 in Eibau

died: 31.10.1993 in Ingolstadt

Apelt's musical talent became apparent early on. From his youth, he took part in many cultural events in Eibau and the surrounding area, leading concerts and operetta performances in the theater association, the Eibau gymnastics club and the Oberlausitzer Männerchor Neugersdorf.

After training as a bank clerk and becoming unemployed during the global economic crisis, he began studying music in Dresden, from which he graduated as a conductor. His first theater engagements took him to Göttingen, Aussig, Troppau and Gießen. After the Second World War, Apelt came to Wuppertal, where he eventually became opera director.

His musical achievements, which were recognized by experts, led him to the Hessian State Theatre in Wiesbaden in 1955, where he succeeded Karl Elmendorff as General Music Director. In Wiesbaden, he continued the unification of the municipal spa and symphony orchestra and the theater orchestra to form the Hessian State Orchestra, which was completed by his successor Wolfgang Sawallisch.

He spent the longest period of his career at the Deutsche Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin from 1958. Guest appearances and concert tours with the Staatskapelle Berlin took him to Budapest, Lausanne and Florence. He conducted at many well-known opera houses in Europe, including La Scala in Milan.

Apelt found his final resting place in Eibau at his own request.