First he studied medicine in Vienna, then vocal
at the Vienna Music Academy. He was a pupil of Tino Pattiera and Paul Neuhaus. He
made his debut in 1936 at the Landestheater in Linz (Danube) as Hans in B. Smetana's
‘’The Bartered Bride’’. In the 1937-1939 seasons worked at the Stadttheater in Basel
and St. Gallen, then, until 1941, he appeared as an operetta singer at the
Mellini-Theater in Hannover. During the World War II he sang at the Theater of Nollendorfplatz in Berlin
in operetta roles (among other things as Danilo in ‘’Lustigen Witwe’’ and Barinkay
in ‘’Zigeunerbaron’’). In
1943 he was engaged by the Städtische Oper (Deutsche Oper) in Berlin, where he made
his debut as Nando in ‘’Tiefland’’ of E. d'Albert. He remained connected to
this opera house throughout his career. In 1948 he appeared there in the world
premiere of the opera ‘’Circe’’ by Werner Egk. Since 1958 he was a member of the
Staatsoper in Hamburg. From 1962 to 1987 he performed at the Staatsoper in Vienna (there took place in 1987 his last
appearance as Ägisth in ‘’Elektra’’ by R. Strauss). In the 1950-1951 season he
appeared at La Scala as Tannhäuser and Parsifal, the next year in ‘’Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg’’ (under W. Furtwängler).
He sang at this famous opera house also in 1957 as Tristan and again came back in
1967 for Tannhäuser. At the Teatro San Carlo in Naples he
performed in the 1949-1950 season in ‘’Wozzeck’’by A. Berg. The role of Walther
von Stolzing he sang at the City Center Opera of New York (1950). In 1955,
1957, 1958, in the 1960-1961 season and also in 1968 he guested at the Grand Opéra in Paris and performed in such a parts
like Siegfried, Tannhäuser, Otello, Tristan, Erik, Florestan, Samson Siegmund and
Tannhäuser. At the Teatro Comunale in Bologna
he was heard in 1957 as Siegfried, at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires as Tristan
(1963), at the Teatro San Carlo in Lisbon as Samson (1961). He also appeared as
a guest in Barcelona, Lyon (1964/1965), Toulouse (Otello), Brussels
(1962-1963) and London (1953). At the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome he guested in
1949 as Parsifal (opposite Maria Callas and Cesare Siepi). Guest performances
also took him to the Staatsoper of Munich and Stuttgart, additionally to the Opéra
de Marseille and The Royal Danish Opera Housea and also Teatro Carlo Felice in
Genoa. In the 1958-1962 seasons he performed at the Bayreuth Festival as
Parsifal, Tristan (1959) and Tannhäuser (1961). At the Salzburg Festival of
1951 he made guest appearances in ‘’Wozzeck’’ and ‘’Zauberflöte’’. On 23. 5. 1971
he performed at the Staatsoper in Vienna in the world premiere of the opera ‘’Der
Besuch der alten Dame’’ by G. von Einem. In 1972 he sang the role of Alfred in ‘’Fledermaus’’
at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. At this house he worked over 40 years and
became its honorary member. On his 75th birthday in 1986 he sang in Berlin the
role of Herod in ‘’Salome’’ by R. Strauss. He was interested in many things and
also worked as writer and painter.
Chronology of some appearances
1936 Linz Landestheater
1937-1939 Basel/ St. Gallen Stadttheater
1939-1941 Hannover Mellini-Theater
1942 Berlin Theater of Nollendorfplatz
1943 Berlin Städtische Oper
1949 Roma Teatro dell'Opera
1950 New York City Center Opera
1950-1952 Milano La Scala
1953 London Covent Garden
1955 Paris Grand Opéra
1957 Paris Grand Opéra
1957 Bologna Teatro Comunale
1958 Paris Grand Opéra
1958-1962 Bayreuth Festival
1960-1961 Paris Grand Opéra
1961 Lisbon Teatro San Carlo
1962-1963 Brussels La Monnaie
1963 Buenos Aires Teatro Colón
1964 Opéra National de Lyon
1965 Opéra National de Lyon
1968 Paris Grand Opéra
1958 Hamburg Staatsoper
1962-1987 Vienna Staatsoper
1972 Berlin Deutsche Oper
1986 Berlin Deutsche Oper
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