A Vogt (from the Old High German, also Voigt or Voight or Landvoigt or Fauth); plural Vögte; Dutch (land)voogd; Danish foged; Polish: wójt; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord (mostly of nobility) exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice (Blutgericht) over a certain territory. The territory or area of responsibility of a Vogt is called a Vogtei (from [ad]vocatia).

Frankish Empire[link]

The range of social status and degrees of responsibility of persons so titled varied greatly, from the humble — the equivalents of the English reeve or bailiff — to the very elevated. At the upper end of its social range the office of Vogt was frequently held by noble and princely families in relation to ecclesiastical territories, a position which such families often exploited to their own advantage, and it is in this connection that it is most commonly referred to.

The concept of the Vogt was related to the Old German idea of the Munt, or guardian, but also included some ideas of physical defence and legal representation (whence the connection with advocatus or advocate).

From the time of Charlemagne, who had such officials appointed in ecclesiastical territories not directly under the control of his counts, the Vogt was a state functionary representing ecclesiastical dignitaries (such as bishops and abbots) or institutions in secular matters, and particularly before secular courts. Such representatives had been assigned to the church since late antiquity, as it was not supposed to act for itself in worldly affairs. Therefore, in areas such as the territories of abbeys and bishoprics, which by virtue of their ecclesiastical status were free (or immune) from the secular government of the local count (Graf, in origin an administrative official in charge of a territory and reporting to the emperor), the Vogt fulfilled the function of a protective lordship, generally commanding the military contingents of such areas (Schirmvogtei). Beyond that, he administered the high justice instead of the count from the Vogt court (Vogtgericht or Blutgericht).

Holy Roman Empire[link]

In the German-ruled Holy Roman Empire, the term Vogt can refer to two different offices: church vogt or imperial vogt. Imperial vogts are further subdivided into land vogts and city vogts. In addition, the term vogt was used for administrative officers of territorial rulers, such as bailiffs.

Church vogt[link]

In private and family monasteries (see proprietary church) the proprietor himself often also held the office of Vogt, frequently retaining it after reform of the propietorship (see also Lay abbot).

The three-way struggle for control of the Vogtei of the more important abbacies, played out among the central monarchy, the Church and the territorial nobility,^[1] was pretty well established as a prorogative of the nobility; the Hirsau formulary (1075) confirmed count Adalbert of Calw as hereditary advocate of the Abbey, an agreement so widely copied elsewhere in Germany that from the tenth century the office developed into an hereditary possession of the higher nobility, who frequently exploited it as a way of extending their power and territories, and in some cases took for themselves the estates and assets of the church bodies for whose protection they were supposedly responsible. In Austria, the teaching of the Church that, according to canon law individuals were prohibited from exercising authority over Church property, was only with reluctance accepted by the nobles. The rights of advocacy were bought back by the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century abbeys in alliance with the Babenberg and early Habsburg dukes; the abolition of the Vogtei (Entvogtung) thereby exchanged local secular jurisdiction for the protective overlordship of the duke of Austria, sometimes by forging charters that the duke confirmed.^[2]

Imperial vogt[link]

An imperial vogt (Reichsvogt) was an officer of the king, who served as administrator and judge of a subdivision of royal property, or of a royal abbey. The seat of an imperial vogt was often at an imperial city. When the imperial cities gained more independence, the office was split into city vogt (Stadtvogt) for the cities and land vogt (Landvogt) for other areas. The offices of city vogts were usually bought by the imperial cities by the late Middle Ages, which led to the independence of the cities. Most land vogt offices became meaningless as the amount of royal property was reduced more and more in favor of territorial rulers (such as dukes and counts).

The land vogt office of the Alsace, consisting of the ten imperial cities of the Décapole, was ceded to the king of France in 1648, but the cities remained part of the Holy Roman Empire. However, the cities were soon thereafter annexed by France.

Several small land vogts continued to exist until the end of the Empire in 1806, mainly in the Swabian Circle.

Old Swiss Confederacy[link]

The title of Landvogt appears in the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1415. A Landvogt ruled a Landvogtei, either representing a sovereign canton, or acting on behalf of the Confederacy, or a subset thereof, administering a condominium (Gemeine Herrschaft) shared between several cantons. In the case of condominiums, the cantons took turns in appointing a Landvogt for a period of two years.

In exceptional cases, the population of the Landvogtei was allowed to elect their own Landvogt. This concerned Oberhasli in particular, which was nominally a subject territory of Berne, but enjoyed a special status as a military ally. The office of Landvogt was abolished in 1798, with the foundation of the Helvetic Republic.

Parallels in medieval England and France[link]

The status of protective lordship, however, in relation to ecclesiastical estates as held, and notoriously abused, by the nobility in Germany throughout the Middle Ages, is without close parallel. There is no single equivalent in English history. The office of reeve was much the same at a village or peasant level, and in other contexts the roles of sheriff, bailiff, seneschal and castellan of course included similar elements. In France, the office of vidame, the temporal administrator for certain bishoprics, showed some connection. The most frequent translations in that connection are either advocate or lord protector.

Modern Europe[link]

Poland[link]

In Poland the title of Wójt was used to denote hereditary heads of towns (under the overlordship of the town's owner - the King, the Church or a nobleman). Today Wójt denotes the elected mayor of a rural commune (gmina), i.e. one consisting only of villages (mayors of towns and cities take different titles).

Denmark[link]

In Danish the word vogt carries different connotations, all pertaining to guarding or keeping watch over something. In modern Danish law, the fogedret (vogt court) administers the forcible enforcement and execution of judgments or other valid legal claims.

Finland[link]

The local bailiff (distrainer) is called kihlakunnanvouti, where kihlakunta is a local judicial district. Their duty is to enforce the financial judgements of the local courts. In practice, the vouti leads a team of assistant distrainers who process most distrainments/garnishments.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Arnold, Benjamin, 1991. Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany. Cambridge:CUP.

Klaus Florian Vogt (born 1970 in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein) is a German operatic tenor known for parts of Richard Wagner.

Biography[link]

Klaus Florian Vogt was a hornist first and played for several years with the Hamburg Philharmonic. He studied voice at the Lübeck Academy of Music and was first engaged at the Landestheater in Flensburg.^[1]

In 1998 he moved to the Semperoper in Dresden, where he worked with Giuseppe Sinopoli and Colin Davis. He started as a lyrical tenor, singing Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, then also Hans in Smetana's The Bartered Bride and Matteo in Strauss' Arabella.

He sang Wagner's Lohengrin first at the theater in Erfurt in 2002, followed by international appearances in this part and also as Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, his debut part at the Bayreuther Festspiele in 2007, and Parsifal.

In the concert repertoire, he recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, with Christian Gerhaher and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Kent Nagano in 2009.^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Klaus Florian Vogt website (in German)
• Klaus Florian Vogt on his agent's website, including a list of his opera parts (in German)
• Entries for recordings by Klaus Florian Vogt on WorldCat

Emilio Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born February 22, 1972) is a Mexican tenor. He settled in France and in 2007 became a French citizen.^[1][2]

Early life and education[link]

He was raised in Fuentes de Satélite, a suburban area of Greater Mexico City, Mexico. In an interview for Mexican television, Villazón told the story of how he was discovered as a tenor. He said that one day, as he was getting out of the shower in his apartment in Mexico City, somebody came knocking on his door; it was baritone Arturo Nieto, a friend of his neighbour, who had heard him singing while in the shower. He told Rolando he had an amazing voice and invited him to his music academy to develop his voice, there Rolando fell in love with opera.^[3]

Career[link]

Late 1990s and early 2000s[link]

He came to international attention in 1999 when he won both first prizes awarded in the Operalia international competition - both for opera and zarzuela. The same year he sang for the first time in Italy as des Grieux in Manon at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. In 2000 he appeared for the first time at the Berlin State Opera - as Macduff in Macbeth. Over the years he has presented many of his best roles there, among them José in Carmen and des Grieux in Manon.

In Munich in 2000 he sang Rodolfo in La bohème and in 2002 in Los Angeles, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. In 2003 he sang Rodolfo at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England. He also enjoyed a huge success in the title role of Les Contes d'Hoffmann at Covent Garden, London. The following year he appeared, again singing the role of Alfredo in La traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, New York and in 2005, both at St. Petersburg and the Salzburg Festival.

In addition to his appearances on the opera stage, he has an active recording career. He has recorded four solo CDs with Virgin Classics and is additionally featured, along with Patrizia Ciofi and Topi Lehtipuu, on the recording of Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda by Claudio Monteverdi, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm.

2005-2010[link]

In August 2005, he sang a highly regarded Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata at the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, directed by Willy Decker. Co-starring was Anna Netrebko as Violetta. They have also appeared together in a video version of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

In 2007, Villazón switched his recording company and signed an exclusive long-term contract with Deutsche Grammophon. An album of zarzuelas (Gitano, Virgin Classics) conducted by Plácido Domingo, was released in Spring 2007. The U.S. version of his album Viva Villazón (Virgin Classics) was released in September 2007. In early 2010 he was a mentor and judge in the ITV show Popstar to Operastar.^[4]

Vocal surgery and the return to the stage[link]

In 2007, Villazón cancelled many of his scheduled engagements in order to diagnose and remedy a persistent vocal issue.^[5][6] In May 2009, Rolando Villazón announced that he had to undergo surgery in order to remove a congenital cyst in one of his vocal cords.^[7] After completing his rehabilitation, he returned to the stage in March 2010 singing Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore at the Vienna State Opera in March 2010, and then embarked on a series of recitals.^[8][9] He made his debut as a stage director with a new production of Werther at the Opéra de Lyon in January 2011.^[10]

Discography[link]

• Romeo y Julieta CD (2002), Radio Televisión Española
• Der Fliegende Holländer CD (2002), Teldec Classics
• Berlioz: La Révolution Grecque CD (2004), EMI Classics
• Italian Opera Arias CD (2004), Virgin Classics
• Gounod & Massenet Arias CD (2005), Virgin Classics
• Tristan und Isolde CDs and DVD (2005), EMI Classics
• Don Carlo 2 DVDs (2005), Opus Arte
• La Traviata CD (2005), Deutsche Grammophon
• Merry Christmas (Soundtrack) CD (2005), Virgin Classics
• Opera Recital CD; bonus edition with DVD (2006), Virgin Classics
• La Traviata DVD; premium 2-DVD edition (behind the scenes, rehearsals, introduction to the opera etc.) (2006), Salzburger Festspiele 2005, Deutsche Grammophon
• La Bohème DVD (2006), Bregenzer Festspiele 2002, ORF + Capriccio
• Monteverdi: Il Combattimento CD; bonus edition with DVD (2006), Virgin Classics
• Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore DVD (2006), Virgin Classics
• The Berlin Concert: Live from the Waldbühne DVD (2006), Deutsche Grammophon
• Gitano CD; bonus edition with DVD (February 2007), Virgin Classics
• Duets featuring Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko CD; bonus edition with DVD (March 2007), Deutsche Grammophon
• Viva Villazón - Rolando Villazón - Best Of CD (2007), Virgin Classics
• La Bohème Live recording CD (two disk set) (2008), Deutsche Grammophon
• Romeo et Juliette" 2 DVDs (Salzburger Festspiele 2008) (2009), Deutsche Grammophon
• Georg Friedrich Händel" CD/CD+DVD,(2009) Deutsche Grammophon
• La Bohème DVD (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rolando Villazón's official website
• Official page on Deutsche Grammophon
• Blog Villazonista, Unofficial fan site