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Upper German
Geographic distribution:	Southern Germany, northern and central Switzerland, Austria, and Northern Italy
Linguistic classification:	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic High German Upper German
Subdivisions:	Alemannic Austro-Bavarian
1: East Franconian   2: South Franconian   3: Swabian German   4: Low Alemannic   5: Alsatian   6: High and Highest Alemannic   7: Northern Austro-Bavarian   8: Central Austro-Bavarian   9: Southern Austro-Bavarian

Upper German (German:  Oberdeutsch (help·info)) is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy.

Family tree[link]

Upper German can be generally classified as Alemannic or Austro-Bavarian. However, there are several dialects in these two groups besides the more widespread versions of Alemannic and Austro-Bavarian.

• Alemannic German (G: Alemannisch)
  • Swabian German (G: Schwäbisch, spoken mostly in Swabia, numbered 3)
  • Low Alemannic German (G: Niederalemannisch, numbered 4)
    • Alsatian (Al & G: Elsässisch, spoken in Alsace, France, numbered 5)
    • Alemán Coloniero (G & Spanish: Alemán Coloniero, spoken in Venezuela)
    • Basel German (Baseldytsch: Baslerdüütsch, G: Baseldeutsch)
  • High Alemannic German (Al & G: Hochalemannisch, numbered 6)
    • Bernese German (Bernese: Bärndütsch, G: Berndeutsch)
    • Zürich German (G: Zürichdeutsch, Zürich German: Züritüütsch)
  • Highest Alemannic German (Al & G: Höchstalemannisch, numbered 6)
    • Walliser German (G: Walliserdeutsch Walliser German: Wallisertitsch, spoken in the Wallis Canton of Switzerland)
      • Walser German (G: Walserdeutsch)
• Austro-Bavarian (A-B: Boarische Språch, G: Bairisch, spoken in Austria, South Tyrol, Italy, and in Bavaria, Germany)
  • Northern Austro-Bavarian (A-B: Nordboarisch, G: Nordbairisch, spoken in Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, numbered 7)
  • Central Austro-Bavarian (A-B: Mittelboarisch, G: Mittelbairisch, spoken in Bavaria and Austria, numbered 8)
    • Viennese German (G: Wienerisch, spoken in Vienna and parts of Lower Austria, Austria)
    • Munich German (G: Münchnerisch, spoken in Munich, Bavaria)
  • Southern Austro-Bavarian (A-B: Südboarisch, G: Südbairisch, spoken in Austria and South Tyrol, Italy)
  • Cimbrian (G: Tzimbrisch, Italian: lingua cimbra, spoken in northeastern Italy)
  • Mócheno (It: lingua mòchena, spoken in Trentino, in Italy)
  • Hutterite German (G: Hutterisch, spoken in Canada and the United States)

High Franconian[link]

Whether the East Franconian (including Erzgebirgisch, often overlooked and incorrectly classified as part of Upper Saxon) and South Franconian dialect groups, also collectively known as High Franconian, should be included as part of Upper German or instead classified as Central German is an open question, as they have traits of both Upper and Central German and are frequently described as a transitional zone. Hence, either scheme can be encountered.

Based on the fact that Langobardic has undergone the High German consonant shift completely, it is also often classified as Upper German. However, if the High German consonant shift occurred late (7th/8th century), which now seems to be the prevalent view, it would seem to be anachronistic to do so. On the other hand, if Langobardic was still essentially identical to Bavarian or Alemannic at the time, the anachronism would disappear, and in fact, what is attested in Langobardic cannot really be shown to be systematically different in any particular point from the earliest attested form of Bavarian in the 8th century, apart from a few divergent phonological developments, which, however, seem to postdate the sound shift.

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2011)

Marta Eggerth
Marta Eggerth in Presenting Lily Mars, 1943
Born	(1912-04-17) 17 April 1912 (age 100) Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1930–1957

Marta Eggerth (born April 17, 1912) is a singer/actress from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Straus, and Paul Abraham, composed works especially for her.

Early life[link]

Eggerth was born in Budapest, the daughter of Tilly (née Herezegh), a dramatic coloratura soprano, and Paul Eggerth, director of the local Reichsbank.^[1] Her mother was Jewish.^[2] Eggerth began singing during her early childhood. Her mother dedicated herself to her daughter, who was called a "Wunderkind" at the age of 11 making her theatrical debut in the operetta Mannequins. It was during this time and the years that followed that Eggerth began singing the most demanding coloratura repertoire by composers including Rossini, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, and Johann Strauss II. While still a teenager, Eggerth embarked on a tour of Denmark, Holland and Sweden before arriving in Vienna at the invitation of Emmerich Kálmán. Kálmán invited her to Vienna to understudy Adele Kern, the famous coloratura of the Vienna State Opera, in his operetta Das Veilchen vom Montmartre (The Violet of Montmartre), eventually taking over the title role to great critical acclaim after Kern suddenly became indisposed. Subsequently, Eggerth performed the role of Adele in Max Reinhardt's famous 1929 Hamburg production of Die Fledermaus at the age of 17.

Eggerth in Berlin, c. 1932

Career[link]

During the early 1930s, Eggerth was discovered by the film industry, and her career took off resulting in international fame. She made more than 40 films in five languages – Hungarian, English, German, French, and Italian. Among the highlights were, Where is this Lady (1932); Ein Lied, ein Kuss, ein Mädel (Berlin 1932, music Robert Stolz); Die Czardasfürstin (1934); Die blonde Carmen (Berlin 1935); Casta Diva, the story of Bellini (Rome 1935); Das Hofkonzert (1936); Zauber der Bohème, with Jan Kiepura (Vienna 1936, music Robert Stolz); as well as two films written especially for her by Franz Lehár, Es war einmal ein Walzer (1932) and Die ganze Welt dreht sich um Liebe (Vienna 1935). It was on the set of the 1934 film Mein Herz ruft immer nach dir (My Heart is Calling You, music [Robert Stolz) that she met and fell in love with the young Polish tenor, Jan Kiepura. They were married in 1936 and together became known as Europe's Liebespaar (Love Pair) causing a sensation wherever they appeared.

On February 10, 1938, Jan Kiepura made his debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera, singing the role of Rodolfo in Puccini's La bohème. He went on to sing leading roles in Tosca, Rigoletto, Carmen, Manon, and Aida, as well as performing up to 80 concerts a year throughout the United States and Canada. While Jan Kiepura toured the United States, Eggerth was signed by the Shubert Theatre on Broadway to appear in Richard Rodgers' musical Higher and Higher. She subsequently signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood, and during the early 1940s, made two movies with Judy Garland – For Me and My Gal in 1942 (also Gene Kelly's first major film role) and Presenting Lily Mars in 1943.

In Chicago, Eggerth and Kiepura performed together on the operatic stage in La bohème to rave reviews. In 1943, they starred together on Broadway at the Majestic Theater in a revised production of Lehár's The Merry Widow, with Robert Stolz conducting and George Balanchine as choreographer. They would eventually perform The Merry Widow more than 200 times, in five languages throughout Europe and America. After World War II, they returned to France touring and making films, such as Valse Brillante (1948) and The Land of Smiles (1952), before bringing The Merry Widow to London's Palace Theatre in 1954.

Throughout her career, Eggerth maintained active recital tours throughout Europe, Canada and the United States, combining her extensive repertoire of lieder, opera, film songs, and especially Viennese operetta. Kiepura's equally active recital schedule often meant that the couple would be temporarily separated. But the couple's international tours often brought them together in the same city, where they would perform to delighted crowds. In London, they gave two sold out concerts in one week at the Royal Albert Hall in 1956. The couple continued singing throughout the 1950s and 1960s with more productions of The Merry Widow in the United States, concerts and other productions in Europe. In 1965 they brought the The Merry Widow back to Berlin for yet another successful run.

Kiepura died in 1966. Eggerth stopped singing at this time for several years. Finally, persuaded by her mother, she decided to revive her career. In the 1970s she began to make regular television appearances, and to actively perform concerts in Europe. In 1984, she returned to the American stage to co-star in the Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt musical Colette opposite Diana Rigg in Seattle and Denver, and later in Stephen Sondheim's Follies in Pittsburgh.

In 1999, at the age of 87, she sang on the stage of the Vienna State Opera in a special televised matinée concert hosted by the late opera impresario and historian Marcel Prawy, to mark that opera house's first production of Lehár's The Merry Widow. She sang a medley from the operetta in four languages and received a spontaneous standing ovation. She repeated this medley in 2000, at a gala to mark the 200th anniversary of Vienna's Theater an der Wien.

In 2001, Eggerth returned to London for "An Interview-in-Concert" at an absolutely sold-out Wigmore Hall, accompanied by conductor-pianist Alexander Frey and hosted by British author and critic, Brendon Carroll. She also sings at the annual Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation concerts at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall to much fanfare. She was seen in Austria on a popular television detective series, Tatort, playing the role of an ageing diva suspected in a murder case. Highlights in 2006/2007 have included two concerts with interviews at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; sold out shows at the Café Sabarsky in Neue Galerie entertaining audiences with her great pre-war Viennese/Berlin cabaret style of wit, artistry and song; a concert and discussion held as part of New York University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes; an appearance at the Austrian Cultural Forum as part of their Mostly Operetta series; operetta master classes at the Manhattan School of Music; as well as an appearance at the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA).

Awards[link]

Eggerth has been awarded many major artistic decorations from Austria, Germany, Poland, and Italy in recognition of her accomplishments in operetta, theater and film. Her latest recognition include The Knights Cross of the Order of the Merit of the Republic of Hungary, her native land's highest honor, and the Erwin Piscator Life Achievement Award for her legendary achievements.

In 2003, Patria Music released a retrospective double CD of her songs entitled My Life My Song.

Personal life[link]

Eggerth was married to the Polish tenor Jan Kiepura and they had two sons, Jan and Marian (b.1945), now a concert pianist in New Hampshire. He is married to Jane Knox-Kiepura, who helps run his company Patria Music.

Eggerth turned 100 in April 2012.^[3]

Films[link]

• Csak egy kislány van a világon (1930)
• Die Bräutigamswitwe (Let's Love and Laugh, 1931)
• Trara um Liebe (1931)
• Der Draufgänger (1931)
• Eine Nacht im Grandhotel (1931)
• Moderne Mitgift (1932)
• Where Is This Lady? (1932)
• Der Frauendiplomat (1932)
• Ein Lied, ein Kuß, ein Mädel (1932)
• Es war einmal ein Walzer (1932)
• Traum von Schönbrunn (1932)
• Das Blaue vom Himmel (1932)
• Kaiserwalzer (1933)
• The Flower of Hawaii (1933)
• Der Zarewitsch (1933)
• Mein Herz ruft nach dir (1934)
• Die Czardasfürstin (1934)
• Unfinished Symphony (Leise flehen meine Lieder, 1934)
• Mon coeur t'appelle (1934)
• Ihr größter Erfolg (1934)
• The Divine Spark (1935)
• Die Blonde Carmen (1935)
• Casta diva (1935)
• Die Ganze Welt dreht sich um Liebe (1935)
• La Chanson du souvenir (1936)
• Das Schloß in Flandern (1936)
• Where the Lark Sings (1936)
• Das Hofkonzert (1936)
• Zauber der Bohème (1937)
• Immer wenn ich glücklich bin..! (1938)
• For Me and My Gal (1942)
• Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
• Addio Mimí! (1947)
• Valse brillante (1949)
• Das Land des Lächelns (1952)
• Frühling in Berlin (1957)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marta Eggerth

• Marta Eggerth at the Internet Movie Database
• Marta Eggerth on Internet Broadway Database
• Photographs and literature
• Marta Eggerth on PatriaMusic
• WNYC "Evening Music" segment