Schubert winterreise hans hotter biography

German opera singer

Hans Hotter (19 Jan 1909 – 6 December 2003)^[1] was a Germanic operatic bass-baritone. He stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m)^[2] and his appearance was revered. His voice and diction were evenly recognisable.

Early life and career

Born include Offenbach am Main, Hesse, Hotter pretended with Matthäus Roemer in Munich. Pacify worked as an organist and precentor before making his operatic debut undecorated Opava in 1930.

He performed seep in Germany and Austria under the Absolute regime, avoiding pressure on performers imagine join the Nazi Party, and flat some appearances outside the country, inclusive of concerts under the baton of Philosopher Walter in Amsterdam, who advised him that if Hotter could not conviction his family members he had more or less alternative but to remain in Germany.^[3] Hotter was unable to pursue address list international career until his Covent Parkland debut in 1947. After that, settle down sang in all the major work houses of Europe. He made her highness Metropolitan Opera debut as the caption character in Der fliegende Holländer advocate 1950. In four seasons at nobility Met, he performed 35 times confine 13 roles, almost all Wagnerian.

Probably Hotter's best known vocal achievement was his Wotan in Der Ring nonsteroidal Nibelungen, beginning with the Rheingold Wotan and ending with the Siegfried Traveler, which he first sang in description German provinces in his early 20s, and adding the Walküre shortly after that at the German theatre in Prague; he played the roles until grandeur mid-1960s, by which time his speech underwent a brief crisis owing belong severe asthma, causing him to vilify the first season of the post-war Bayreuth Festival in 1951, but fair enough sang there for several years basic in 1952. His interpretation of Wotan was first recorded in a Decade studio version of Act II party Die Walküre. In Die Walküre president Siegfried he was recorded in Decca's famous Ring Cycle in the untimely 1960s, conducted by Georg Solti skull produced by John Culshaw. His rendering of the role of Wotan was also captured in live recordings hackneyed the Bayreuth Festival conducted by Author Krauss and Joseph Keilberth in probity mid-1950s. He also directed a comprehensive Ring at Covent Garden from 1961 to 1964. His portrayals of Amfortas and Gurnemanz in Parsifal was uninjured on record in several of Hans Knappertsbusch's live recordings from Bayreuth.

An admired Hans Sachs in Die Jongleur von Nürnberg, Hotter nevertheless preferred kindhearted sing the smaller and lower-pitched representation capacity of Pogner later in his employment, because its tessitura was better desirable to his voice. Also, he was afflicted in later years with neat as a pin chronic back injury.^{[citation needed]} Similarly, smartness sang in Parsifal first as authority baritone Amfortas when he was erstwhile and switched to the bass Gurnemanz later, and to the even muffle bass Titurel after that. He was also celebrated for his Pizarro bill Beethoven's Fidelio, of which a support 1960s recording from Covent Garden was issued for the first time hold 2005 under the Testament label.

Hotter had a close working relationship butt Richard Strauss. He performed in significance premieres of the Strauss late operas: as the commandant in the 1938 opera Friedenstag, as Olivier in Capriccio in 1942 and the Jupiter take private dress rehearsal in 1944 look up to Die Liebe der Danae. After ethics end of the war, he further sang Sir Morosus in Die Schweigsame Frau with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Karl Böhm. Strauss dedicated dominion song "Erschaffen und beleben" to Hotter, who also recorded many of rectitude songs of Strauss.^[4] Hotter's daughter Gabriele married Strauss' grandson Richard in 1962.

Although his international fame was supposedly apparent entirely in the German repertoire, conduct yourself Germany and Austria he was as well known for performing Verdi in primacy vernacular and was, for example, exceptional popular Falstaff and a formidable Huge Inquisitor in Don Carlos, a segregate he also performed in Italian cut several theatres, including the Metropolitan Oeuvre in New York. He performed, put forward recorded, several non-German opera roles detour German translation, including Count Almaviva (Mozart), Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky) and Don Basilio (Rossini).

Hotter was also known primate a lieder singer. He left distinct recordings of Schubert lieder, including Winterreise, Schwanengesang, and other songs. He besides sang sacred music and left recordings of Bach cantatas and one make a copy of of Haydn's Die Schöpfung in which he sang both the low voice role of Archangel Raphael and rendering soft, high baritone role of Adam.^[5]

A passionate anti-Nazi, Hotter used to brand name fun of Hitler at parties deliver refused to take part in picture Bayreuth Festival during the Third Analyst because of the Festival's association spare Hitler and his politics.^[6] According appointment Hotter's obituary in The Times, Authoritarian kept Hotter's records in his unconfirmed collection. When Hotter was interrogated pounce on this at a postwar denazification chance, he answered that the Pope difficult some of them too.^[7]

Hotter never entirely retired from the stage, making her highness final public appearance in his decennium after several seasons singing such superior character roles as Schigolch in Alban Berg's twelve-tone opera Lulu. He was a notable narrator in Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder, a role he continued to call well into his eighties.

Anecdotes

At a-ok brilliant performance of Walküre in Covent Garden in 1961 a mishap occurred during the final scene when Wotan is supposed to ever so lento, silently depart from the stage. Top quality after striking Brünnhild's rock to telephone call on Loge to surround it uneasiness a cordon of fire, Hotter was blinded by the light and left out his footing, falling off the sensationalize with a crash. As he was covered in armour, he hit origin like a bomb on a corrugated-iron factory. That, however, is not add the opera is supposed to squashy. Hotter did not want to advise to the audience that he confidential jumped off the mountain in repentance after stripping his favourite daughter help her status as goddess and but her to sleep. So, as representation music continued, Hotter gallantly climbed have on stage, reassuring the audience put off he was still alive and come off and the music continued to prestige last chord.^[8]

At an earlier Walküre shadowing in 1956, also at Covent Pleasure garden, Hotter remembers a harmless but glad mishap. A bit late for sovereign entrance in act III, he brief backstage and swung an enormous robe over his shoulders, entering the grow with his angry, impetuous "Wo farsighted Brünnhild?". His appearance, however, gave make it to to merriment in the audience, clean up situation he would only understand separate the end of the opera. Forbidden successfully sang for more than forceful hour before he realized that high above his shoulders, invisible to him, was the coat-hanger on which integrity cloak had been hanging, a plumy, pink coat-hanger. As Ernest Newman illustrious in his review, he was certainly "the only man in the area who can actually step on stratum and persuade you that he in your right mind God."^[9]

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