Description

JOSEF HERRMANN (DARMSTADT, 20 APRIL, 1903 – HILDESHEIM, 19 NOVEMBER, 1955)

 

 

 

 

He received his training at the Darmstadt Conservatory under Carl Beines. He began his career as a beginner at the Darmstadt State Theater from 1927 to 1928, then sang at the Kaiserslautern Theater (1928–1931), the Stettin City Theater (1931–1933), the Königsberg Theater in East Prussia (1933–1936), and the Nuremberg Opera House (1936–1939). In 1939, he was appointed to the Dresden State Opera, where on October 31, 1942, he sang in the premiere of H. Sutermeister’s Magic Island.

From 1943 to 1944, alongside his Dresden engagement, he also performed at the Vienna State Opera. From 1939 to 1941, he appeared at the Sopot Forest Opera Festival, singing Wotan in the Ring Cycle (1939), the title role in The Flying Dutchman (1940), and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger (1941). He remained with the Dresden Opera until 1950 and was also a member of the Berlin Municipal Opera from 1948 to 1955. From 1955 until his death, he belonged to the Berlin State Opera. Among other roles, he sang Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger at the reopening of the house on September 4, 1955.

He made important guest appearances at leading European and South American theaters: La Scala in Milan (1939 and 1942 as Kurwenal in Tristan, 1950 as the Wanderer and as Gunther in the Ring under Wilhelm Furtwängler, and 1952 as Hans Sachs), the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels (1939), the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1938 as Wotan in Die Walküre, 1939 as the Flying Dutchman, and 1941 as Kurwenal), the Paris Opéra (1952 as Jochanaan in Salome), the Monte Carlo Opera (1953 as Kaspar in Der Freischütz), the Rome Opera (1953 as Wotan, Wanderer, and Gunther in the Ring, 1954 as the Flying Dutchman), the Teatro Comunale in Bologna (1953 as Kurwenal), the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1950). These engagements confirmed him as one of the great Wagner singers of his time.

From 1951 to 1952, he appeared at the Munich State Opera. In 1948, he sang at the Berlin Municipal Opera in the premiere of W. Egk’s Circe. That same year he performed the King in Carl Orff’s Die Kluge at the Komische Oper Berlin, where he continued to appear frequently. In 1951, he was a guest at the Vienna State Opera as the title role in Berg’s Wozzeck with Christel Goltz, and later that year he repeated the role at the Salzburg Festival.

His wide-ranging repertoire included the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte, Pizarro in Fidelio, the title role in Marschner’s Hans Heiling, Sebastiano in d’Albert’s Tiefland, Orest in Strauss’s Elektra, Barak in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, Escamillo in Carmen, Rigoletto, Amonasro in Aida, the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi’s Don Carlos, Iago in Otello, Tonio in Pagliacci, Scarpia in Tosca, and Boris Godunov.

He was married to the soprano Margarethe Düren (b. 1904), who also sang in Dresden and later worked as a prompter at the Cologne Opera until advanced age. He died suddenly the day after a performance of Orff’s Die Kluge, in which he had sung the King, one of his major roles. He was laid to rest in Dresden.

His discography includes recordings on HMV, Urania (Hugo Wolf’s Der Corregidor), DGG, and the Bruno Walter Society (Ring des Nibelungen excerpts as Gunther and Wanderer). HMV-Electrola released five duets with his wife Margarethe Düren. A complete recording of Verdi’s Luisa Miller (1943) appeared on the Preiser label, and Koch Records issued operatic excerpts from the Vienna Opera, including his Hans Sachs and Barak (Die Frau ohne Schatten).

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Bajazzo (Leoncavallo) Was Gibts (w. Düren) HMV unpublished (2RA 5990) 1943

Das Rheingold (Wagner) Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge HMV unpublished (2RA 5635) 1943

Der fliegende Holländer (Wagner) Die Frist ist um HMV DB 7645 (2RA 56323-2) 1943

Der Fliegende Holländer (Wagner) Durch Sturm Und Bösen Wind (w. Böhme) HMV unpublished (2RA 5996 & 5998) 1943

Der Freischütz (Weber) Hier Im Irdschen Jammertal HMV DA 4498 (ORA 5286-2) 1942

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Jerum! Jerum! HMV unpublished (2RA 5999) 1943

Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg (Wagner) Was Duftet Doch Der Flieder HMV DB 5623 (2RA 48123-2) 1941

Die Walküre (Wagner) Leb ́ wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind HMV DB 76756 (2RA 5628-2, 2RA 5629-2, 2RA 5630-2 & 2RA 5631-3) 1943

Fidelio (Beethoven) Jetzt Alter Alter Jetzt Hat Es Eile (w. Böhme) HMV unpublished (2RA 5997) 1943

Forza del destino (Verdi) Lied des schwarzen Studenten (Son pereda) DA4498 2RA5289-3 HMV, Berlin 1942

Hans Heiling (Marschner) An Jenem Tag HMV DB 5678 (2RA 5287-2) 1942

Inno a Roma (Puccini) (w. chorus) DB5642 2RA4962-2 HMV, Berlin 1941

Othello (Verdi) Trinklied (w. Tessmer & Treffner) HMV DB 7700 (2RA 6002-3) 1943

Othello (Verdi) Bei des Himmels ehernem Dache (w. Ralf) HMV DB 5620 2 RA 4815 2

Othello (Verdi) Ich Glaube An Einen Gott (w. Merten) HMV DB 5647 (2RA 4965-2) 1941

Peter Schmoll (Weber) Ja, Gottes Erde ist doch schön HMV unpublished (ORA 5988) 1943

Tosca (Puccini) Te Deum (Ge) HMV DB5647 2RA4964- 1941