Hotter, Hans

Hotter, Hans, greatly esteemed German bassbaritone; b. Of fenbach am Main, Jan. 19, 1909. He studied voice with Matthäus Roemer, making his debut as the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte in Opava in 1929. He was a member of the opera there from 1930, and also sang at the German Theater in Prague (1932–34). He then sang at the Hamburg State Opera (1934–45), Bavarian State Opera in Munich (1937–72), Berlin State Opera (1939–42), and Vienna State Opera (1939–72). He made his first appearance at London’s Covent Garden with the visiting Vienna State Opera in 1947. Hotter made appearances regularly at Covent Garden until 1967 and was a principal singer at the Bayreuth Festivals (1952–64), where he became renowned for his portrayal of Wotan. He also distinguished himself in such roles as Kurwenal, Hans Sachs, Amfortas, Gurne-manz, King Marke, and Pogner. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as the Dutchman in Der fliegende Holländer on Nov. 9, 1950, remaining on its roster until 1954. He also sang at La Scala in Milan, the Paris Opéra, the Salzburg Festival, the Chicago Opera, and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. He became a member of the faculty of the Vienna Hochschule für Musik in 1977. In addition to his Wagnerian roles, Hotter also created the roles of the Kommandant in Friedenstag (Munich, July 24, 1938), of Olivier in Capriccio (Munich, Oct. 28, 1942), and of Jupiter in Die Liebe der Danae (public dress rehearsal, Salzburg, Aug. 16, 1944) in Strauss’s operas. His autobiography was publ. as “Der Mai war mir gewogen—:” Erinnerungen (Munich, 1996).

Bibliography

B. Wessling, H. H. (Bremen, 1966); P. Turing, H. H.: Man and Artist (London, 1983).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire