3. Villa Doris

3. Villa Doris

17. listopadu 2

The building located in the ornamental garden of Paulina’s Court was built in 1899 by Wilhelm Lux, based on the design by Karel Seidl. The investor Karl Chiari requested that it take the form of an Italian Renaissance villa. Looking at the façade facing the street and the garden, a pair of central bays creates a triaxial panel with the balcony.

It was home to Karl Chiari’s son Eduard and his wife Doris, whose name the villa still proudly bears. Eduard Chiari’s family was one of the important industrial families of the time and, apart from managing the family property, Eduard devoted his time to music. He performed all over Europe as a concert pianist and was also a prolific composer. He became the soul of Šumperk’s cultural life and invited many renowned musicians to visit the town. One of them was a native of Šumperk, the famous opera singer and actor Leo Slezak. The audience was not only fascinated by his impressive singing but also by his extraordinary height and sense of humour. His performance in Wagner’s Lohengrin became legendary. The stagehand sent a swan prop onto the stage too early, before the singer got into it. Leo spontaneously reacted and asked the audience: “Excuse me, what time does the next swan leave?” The audience loved it.



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