Hans Hopf
Hans Hopf (born August 2, 1916 in Nuremberg , † June 25, 1993 in Munich ) was a German opera singer in the field of hero tenors .
Life
He studied with Paul Bender in Munich and with Ragnvald Bjärne in Oslo and made his debut at the Bayerische Landesbühne in 1936 as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly . From 1939 to 1942 he was a lyric tenor in the ensemble of the Augsburg Theaters and then went to Dresden , where he became a hero tenor . From 1946 to 1949 he belonged to the Berlin State Opera , then to the Bavarian State Opera and gave a number of performances at the Vienna State Opera every year .
From 1951 he appeared regularly in Bayreuth, where he sang the tenor part in Ludwig van Beethoven's ninth symphony at the reopening of the Bayreuth Festival . In 1952 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera . The Milan Scala , Covent Garden and other large theaters also invited the Wagner tenor. Something has been forgotten that Hans Hopf was also an outstanding German representative of the Italian repertoire.
From 1950 he was closely connected with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf / Duisburg) through a guest contract , where he appeared again and again with Astrid Varnay in the major Wagner roles. At the Salzburg Festival in 1954 he sang Max im Freischütz . Hopf shone above all as Tannhäuser ( Tannhäuser and the Singers' War on Wartburg ), Siegfried ( Der Ring des Nibelungen ) and Tristan ( Tristan and Isolde ) and was considered - equipped with the necessary baritone foundation and slim, shining tenoral height as well as an apparently effortless stamina - as one of the "last" real German Wagner tenors. Numerous records were produced with the help of Hopf.
After his stage farewell for the golden stage anniversary (1988) he worked as a teacher in Munich. His grandson Dominique Hopf is also a singer.
Hans Hopf's grave is located in Steinebach (Wörthsee) , Buchteil cemetery.
Honors
- 1983: Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany
Audio samples
- Richard Wagner, Meistersinger , Act II: "Yes it is you, no it is you" (Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival , Herbert von Karajan , 1951; MP3, 854 kB)
- Richard Wagner, Rienzi , 5th act: "Almighty Father, look down" ( Wiener Symphoniker , Rudolf Moralt , 1956; Youtube-Video)
literature
- Uwe Harten : Hopf, Hans. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 2, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-7001-3044-9 .
Web links
- Hans Hopf in the Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online (BMLO)
- Hans Hopf at Discogs (English)
- Hans Hopf at Operissimo on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
- More detailed CV (PDF file; 2.2 MB)
- Klaus Ulrich Spiegel: Tenore eroico lirico - hero singer between the opera subjects: the German tenor Hans Hopf on ku-spiegel.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hopf, Hans |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German opera singer (hero tenor) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 2, 1916 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nuremberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 25, 1993 |
| Place of death | Munich |