Schöffler, Paul
Schöffler, Paul
Schöffler, Paul, distinguished German bass- baritone; b. Dresden, Sept. 15, 1897; d. Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Nov. 21, 1977. He studied in Dresden, Berlin, and Milan. In 1925 he made his operatic debut at the Dresden State Opera as the Herald in Lohengrin; continued on its roster until 1938, then was a member of the Vienna State Opera until 1965. He also sang at London’s Covent Garden (1934–39; 1949–53), the Bayreuth Festivals (1943–44; 1956), and the Salzburg Festivals (1938–1; 1947; 1949–65). He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on Jan. 26, 1950, as Jochanaan in Salome; continued to sing there, with interruptions, until 1956, returning there in 1963 to sing one of his finest roles, Hans Sachs; remained on its roster until 1965, when he went to England. His other notable roles included Figaro, Don Giovanni, the Dutchman, Kurwe-nal, Scarpia, and Hindemith’s Cardillac and Mathis der Maler; he also created the role of Jupiter in the first stage perf. of Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae (1952) and Einem’s Danton (1947).
Bibliography
H. Christian, P. S.: Versuch einer Würdigung (Vienna, 1967).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire