Description

GUSTAV WILHELM PAUL KNÜPFER (HALLE, 21 JUNE, 1866 – BERLIN-SCHÖNEBERG, 5 NOVEMBER, 1920)

 

 

 

 

The singer’s father was a cathedral cantor in Halle (Saale). Paul Knüpfer originally intended to study medicine, but from 1884 onwards he attended the Sondershausen Conservatory in Thuringia, where he studied orchestral conducting. He took voice lessons only as a secondary subject, with the pedagogue Bernhard Günsburger. Against his father’s wishes, he pursued a singing career and made his debut at the Sondershausen Court Theater in 1887.

From 1888 to 1898, he was engaged as first bass at the Leipzig Opera House, where, among other roles, he participated in the 1890 premiere of Johann Joseph Abert’s opera The Almohads. In 1898, he accepted an engagement at the Berlin Court Opera, making his debut there as van Bett in Lortzing’s Tsar and Carpenter. His career reached its peak in Berlin. On December 13, 1904, he sang the role of Elector Frederick in the premiere of Leoncavallo’s Der Roland von Berlin, and on April 14, 1905, he appeared in the premiere of Humperdinck’s Die Heirat wider Willen (The Marriage Against Her Will). Earlier, on January 14, 1899, he had already appeared at the Berlin Court Opera in the premiere of Chabrier’s unfinished opera Briseïs (in an adaptation by E. Klingenfeld), and in 1900 in a new version of Auber’s Le Cheval de Bronze (adapted by Humperdinck).

At the Bayreuth Festival he appeared regularly: in 1901 as Gurnemanz and Titurel in Parsifal; in 1902 as Daland in The Flying Dutchman; in 1904 as the Landgrave in Tannhäuser; in 1906 as King Marke in Tristan und Isolde; as Hunding in Die Walküre (1904, 1906, 1912); and as Pogner in Die Meistersinger (1912). In 1911, he took on the role of Baron Ochs in the Berlin premiere of Der Rosenkavalier, which he later repeated at the 1913 Covent Garden premiere of the opera. From 1904 onwards, he was also a frequent guest at Covent Garden, where in 1906 he created Abul Hassan in Cornelius’s The Barber of Baghdad for London, and in 1914 he sang Gurnemanz in the historic London premiere of Parsifal.

In 1913, he sang King Philip in the belated Berlin premiere of Verdi’s Don Carlos. Other notable roles in his repertoire included Falstaff in Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Osmin in The Abduction from the Seraglio, Rocco in Fidelio (a role he also sang in The Hague in 1910), and Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust. One of his last stage appearances was as Madruscht in the Berlin premiere of Pfitzner’s Palestrina in 1919.

In 1920, he was forced to retire due to a serious, incurable illness. Paul Knüpfer was married to the soprano Marie Knüpfer-Egli (1872–1924), who had a distinguished career of her own. His sister, Margarete Knüpfer, was also a well-known opera singer.

Paul Knüpfer was regarded as one of the most beautiful bass voices of his generation. Equally accomplished in both serious and buffo roles, he was especially admired in Wagner.

Recordings: His earliest recordings, made around 1900, were “artist phonograph cylinders” produced by the singer Adolf Lieban (later founder of the Lyrophon company). In 1901 he recorded for Berliner Records, and in 1908 he sang Méphistophélès in a complete recording of Gounod’s Faust for HMV. His last recordings, probably made in 1915, were later released on the Polydor label. All of his recordings are considered to be of great beauty.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Aida (Verdi) Ich hab’ gekämpft (w. Kemp, Arndt-Ober, Jörn, Wiedemann, Krasa & chorus) 044264 1231½s Gramophone, Berlin 1913-10-24

Aida (Verdi) Zu des Niles heil’gen Ufern (w. Kemp, Arndt-Ober, Jörn, Krasa & chorus) 044263 1232½s Gramophone, Berlin 1913-10-24

Alessandro Stradella (Flotow) An dem linken Strand des Tiber (Banditen-Duett) (w. Henke) 044274 803m Grammophon, Berlin 1915-02

Der Wanderer (Schubert) 042262 479s Gramophone, Berlin 1910-05

Fidelio (Beethoven) Euch werde Lohn (w. Kurt & Urlus) 044203 606m Gramophone, Berlin 1912-03-13

Fra Diavolo (Auber) Banditen-Duett (w. Henke) 044275 804m Grammophon, Berlin 1915-02

Lohengrin (Wagner) Du kündest nun dein wahr’ Gericht (Königsgebet pt 2) (w. van Endert, Arndt-Ober, Sommer, Habich & chorus) 044230 299al Gramophone, Berlin 1912-11-06

Lohengrin (Wagner) Mein Herr und Gott (Königsgebet, pt 1) 042389 259al Gramophone, Berlin 1912-09-27

Lustigen Weiber von Windsor (Nicolai) Wie freu’ ich mich (w. Bachmann) 044058, 0726v G&T, Berlin 1907

Martha (Flotow) Ja, seit frühester Kindheit Tagen (w. Jörn) 044092 0815v Gramophone, Berlin 1908-04

Muette de Portici (Auber) Das teure Vaterland zu retten (w. Jadlowker) 044276 808m Gramophone, Berlin 1915-02

Parsifal (Wagner) Du sieh’st, das ist nicht so (w. Knüpfer) 044253 1186s Gramophone, Berlin 1913-09-26

Parsifal (Wagner) Mein erstes Amt (w. Jadlowker) 044252 1185s Gramophone, Berlin 1913-09-26

Prodana Nevesta (Smetana) Weiss ich doch eine, die hat Dukaten (w. Jadlowker) 3-44120 17375L Gramophone, Berlin 1915-02

Rheingold (Wagner) Sanft schloss Schlaf dein Aug’ (w. Koerfer & Krasa) 044243 1136s Gramophone, Berlin 1913-08-23

Rheingold (Wagner) Wie schlau für Ernst du achtest (w. Koerfer & Krasa) 044244 1137s Gramophone, Berlin 1913-08-23

Tom der Reimer (Loewe) 042261 478s Gramophone, Berlin 1910-05

Undine (Lortzing) Im Wein ist Wahrheit (w. Henke) 3-44123 17713L Grammophon, Berlin 1915-04

Walküre (Wagner) Künde nun, Gast (w. Kraus) 044171 529s Gramophone, Berlin 1910-10-12

Walküre (Wagner) Wunder und wilde Märe Märe (w. Knüpfer-Egli & Kraus) 044170 514s Gramophone, Berlin 1910-09-30