Herbert Janssen

Herbert Janssen ( born September 22, 1892 in Cologne, † June 3, 1965 in New York ) was a German singer (baritone ).

Biography

Janssen came from a music-loving family and received in his youth singing lessons. Nevertheless, he first studied law, before he finally decided in favor of the singer 's career. In 1922, the singer his first engagement at the Berlin State Opera, where he quickly worked his way from small supporting roles. Even in the season 1923/24, he sang for the first time the tungsten in Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser, one of his most important roles. For more than fifteen years, Berlin remained his headquarters.

1925 Janssen first appeared at the Wagner Festival in Sopot Forest Opera on; from 1926 until the beginning of World War II, he was a regular guest at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London. There were also guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, the opera houses in Munich, Paris, Dresden, Barcelona and The Hague. From 1930 to 1937 Janssen sang regularly at the Bayreuth Festival.

In 1937 he was appointed member of the NSDAP and the chamber singers, but had to leave shortly after because of his homosexuality Germany. He went for a season to Vienna, then to America. Here he appeared first in 1938 in Buenos Aires. Since 1939, he sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he remained until 1951. Janssen remained after the war in New York, most recently as a much sought after teacher.

Repertoire

Although Herbert Janssen had originally sung a very large and varied repertoire ranging from Mozart ( Count in Le nozze di Figaro ) over Lortzingstraße ( Tsar Peter in Zar und Zimmermann ), very much Verdi ( Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore, one of his favorite roles, Renato the masked ball, Iago in Otello, etc. ) to Bizet ( Escamillo in Carmen handed ), it was laid down in the later years of his career, especially in New York, especially in Wagner roles, what he regretted.

In his time was the singer as the most important performers of lyrical baritone roles of composer, mainly of Kurvenal in Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and Amfortas in just the Wolfram in Tannhäuser. Not only the well-known critic Jürgen Kesting is of the opinion that he has not been achieved in this role until today to disk.

In addition, Janssen was an important song singer at a time when the art form was still far less considered today. Janssens voice had a rich, soft, velvety tone and an Italian staining in great expressivity.