16 May – 6 July 2008
Eric Helgar was the voice of the 1930s and the epitome of so-called “chorus vocals”. His voice can be heard on the dance records of the most famous orchestras of his time, such as those conducted by Peter Kreuder, Adalbert Lutter, and Teddy Stauffer. He refrained from singing falsetto, same as from vocal arabesques and actor-like interpretations of the usually mediocre lyrics. When Helgar sings, it sounds as if he actually had “better things to do”, as if he accidentally recorded something legendary in the studio – without a trace of effort, with a hint of irony and distance, a lot of self-confidence, and a bright smile. It is this ease that distinguishes him from, e.g., the twanging tenor of his colleague Rudi Schuricke and Wilhelm Strienz’s operatic bass. Eric Helgar’s vocals convey something very modern and non-German. His voice and appearance are those of a jet set cosmopolitan and have nothing in common with German small-mindedness and the ideological straitjacket of the 1930s. After Helgar had become a star in the record business, the handsome young man was soon courted by the film industry.
The foyer exhibition displayed the successes Helgar achieved throughout five decades and shed light on the career of one of the most important representatives of German popular culture.