Description

PAUL BENDER (DRIEDORF, WESTERWALD, 28 JULY, 1875 – MUNICH, 25 NOVEMBER, 1947)

He was born to a Protestant pastor and initially pursued medical studies in Berlin before training his voice with renowned Berlin teachers Luise Ress and Baptist Hoffmann. His stage debut came in 1900 at the Breslau Opera House as the Hermit in Weber’s Der Freischütz, where he performed until 1903. He then joined the Munich Court Opera, serving as its principal bass for 30 years and appearing on stage over 2,000 times, including in heroic baritone roles between 1912 and 1925. Notably, on November 27, 1903, he participated in the world premiere of Le donne curiose and later, on March 19, 1906, in I quattro rusteghi by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, both staged in German at the Residenztheater. On June 12, 1917, he premiered the role of Pope Pius V in Pfitzner’s Palestrina at the Prinzregententheater and later performed the title role in Massenet’s Don Quixote.

At the Bayreuth Festival in 1902, he sang Fasolt in Das Rheingold, and in 1910, he appeared as Daland in Der fliegende Holländer at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. His Covent Garden appearances (1910-1913) included performances in Der Ring des Nibelungen and Amfortas in Parsifal in 1914. He was a celebrated guest at major opera houses worldwide, performing from 1916-17 and again in 1935 at the Vienna State Opera, and at Zurich’s City Theater in 1909 and 1915. From 1922 to 1927, he was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he debuted as Ochs in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. There, he expanded his repertoire with roles such as Sarastro in The Magic Flute and the title character in Cornelius’s The Barber of Bagdad. In 1924 and 1927, he captivated audiences in London as Ochs and in Paris in 1927 as Rocco in Fidelio. At the Salzburg Festival in 1926, he performed Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

He continued to pioneer in contemporary music, appearing in the world premieres of Julius Weismann’s The Ghost Sonata in Munich (1930), Hans Pfitzner’s Das Herz (1931), and Carl Orff’s Der Mond in 1939, in which he portrayed Peter. From 1938 to 1939, he sang Fafner in Der Ring des Nibelungen at La Scala in Milan. His extensive touring led him to stages across Germany, Amsterdam, Geneva (1931), Stockholm (1935 in concerts), Budapest (1929 as a soloist, and again in 1931), and Spain. He excelled in both operatic and concert performances, with over a hundred major roles in his repertoire and a special renown as an interpreter of Carl Loewe’s ballads, regarded as a successor to Eugen Gura.

Even as he continued performing well into his later years, his technical precision and dark-timbered, voluminous bass voice remained remarkable. He performed until just weeks before his death, with his final stage appearance in Les Contes d’Hoffmann. An influential teacher, he became a professor at the Munich Academy of Music in 1931, mentoring prominent singers like Josef Greindl and Hans Hopf.

TRACKLIST

1. Archibald Douglas, pt 1 pt 2 (Loewe) EH862, EH862, 2D1554-2, 2D1555-1, HMV, Berlin 1933-04-21
2. Barbier von Bagdad (Cornelius) Gross Cadenz des Abdul Hassan 4-42193 299ab Gramophone, München 1909-01-02
3. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Die Verleumdung X99503 xB4843 Odeon, Berlin 1910-06
4. Debora (Händel) Arie des Abinoam 3-42838 3152r G&T, München 1907-07
5. Der alte Herr (Graener) EG6107 0D1557-1 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-21
6. Der Dandy (Kowalski) unpub 0D1559-1 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-21
7. Der Mummelsee (Loewe) 042583, 1259m Grammophon, Berlin 1919
8. Der Nöck, pt 1 pt 2 (Loewe) 042584, 042585, 1257½m, 1258m, Grammophon, Berlin 1919
9. Der Wanderer (Schubert) 042582 1256m Grammophon, Berlin 1919
10. Die Laterne (Kowalski) unpubl 0D1559-1 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-21
11. Edward (Loewe) EH827 2D1552-2 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-20
12. Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart) Wer ein Liebchen hat gefunden 4-42247 6474r Gramophone, Berlin 1909-06
13. Erlkönig (Loewe) EH827 2D1551-2 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-20
14. Faust (Gounod) Ja, das Gold regiert die Welt (Rondo) 3-42857 3158r G&T, München 1907-07
15. Faust (Gounod) Scheinst zu schlafen (Serenade) 3-42858 3156r G&T, München 1907-07
16. Fidelio (Beethoven) hat man nicht auch Gold 4-42246 6473r Gramophone, Berlin 1909-06
17. Freischütz (Weber) Wer legt auf ihn so strengen Bann 4-42261 6476½r Gramophone, Berlin 1909-06
18. Frühlingsfahrt (Schumann) 4-42659 19201L Grammophon, Berlin 1919
19. Gesang Weylas (Wolf) 4-42192 325ab Gramophone, München 1909-01-05
20. Götterdämmerung (Wagner) Hier sitz’ ich zur Wach’ 3-42908, 4973h G&T, Berlin 1907-08
21. Gringoire (Brüll) Auftritt des Königs Gringoire 3-42839 3153r G&T, München 1907-07
22. Heimlichkeit (Loewe) EH904 2D1548-2 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-20
23. Herr Oluf (Loewe) EH904 2D1556-2 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-21
24. Hochzeitslied (Loewe) EH830 2D1550-1 HMV, Berlin 1933-04-20