Hans Hotter
Hans Hotter was one of the 20th century's greatest singing actors. Indeed, he was often compared to Russian bass-baritone Feodor Chaliapin in histrionic ability as well as vocal endowment. Like the Russian, he was tall, able to bring the authority of his six feet four inch frame to the Wagnerian roles in which he came to specialize. After the retirement of Friedrich Schorr in 1943, Hotter came to be considered the supreme Wotan in Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung tetrology.
Hotter trained as an organist and choirmaster, but found his vocal gifts pushing him in the direction of a singing career. He made his debut as the Speaker in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the age of 20 in the small theater at Opava. Following contracts in Prague, Breslau, and Hamburg, he was invited to Munich in 1938 and remained associated with that company for much of his subsequent career. In Munich, he came in close contact with composer Richard Strauss who, much impressed with Hotter's singing and acting, composed three roles specifically for him, beginning with the Commandant in Friedenstag (Freedom's Day), which had its premiere in Munich in 1938. Following that, Strauss wrote for Hotter the part of Jupiter in Die Liebe der Danae (The Love of Danae). Hotter sang the dress rehearsal for a much-delayed production at Salzburg just before all theaters were closed in 1944. In Capriccio, Strauss' final opera, Hotter appeared as Olivier at the 1942 premiere.
With the cessation of World War II hostilities, Hotter's career took him abroad, first to London in 1947 where, among other roles, he performed Wotan in stagings given in English; he remained a revered artist in England for as long as his long career continued. In 1950, he made an impressive debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera as the protagonist in Wagner's Fliegende Holländer. His immense voice and baleful appearance made a profound effect upon both critics and audiences as yet more comparisons to Chaliapin were invoked. After only a few seasons, however, his Met career came to a halt when general manager Rudolf Bing sought to steer him in the direction of secondary parts. The rest of the opera world was only too happy to hear him perform the great Wagnerian and Strauss roles in which he was incomparable and he was a welcome guest in San Francisco and Chicago.
Vienna was one of several European venues to benefit from his appearances in roles he seldom undertook in the United States. Roles such as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and King Phillip in Verdi's Don Carlo were two especially memorable interpretations.
Throughout the 1950s and on through the last of his public appearances in 1972, Hotter's voice was increasingly prone to unsteadiness at full volume. Acute hay fever bedeviled him during summer engagements such as those at the Bayreuth Festival. Still, his performances remained riveting even in vocal decline and Georg Solti chose him for his Ring recording even after he was significantly past his prime.
While better known as an operatic personality, Hotter was a magnificent interpreter of German lieder (he in fact enjoyed performing this music more than opera) and made many recordings of the repertory over a three-decade span. His interpretive genius and ability to scale back his huge voice suited this kind of singing superbly, and the reissue on CD of his best song recordings has won the enthusiasm of a new generation of followers.
© TiVo
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Un Requiem allemand
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hans Hotter, Wiener Singverein, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Naxos on 12 Jul 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Salome, Op. 54, TrV 215 (Bayerische Staatsoper Live)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Hans Hotter
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 4 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert, Brahms & Strauss: Lieder (Live)
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1956)
Opera - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 17 Mar 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: A German Requiem
Agnes Giebel, Hans Hotter, Hans Bachem
Classical - Released by Past Classics on 20 Jul 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art Of Hans Hotter
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 5 May 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dokumente einer Sängerkarriere - Hans Hotter
Classical - Released by Preiser Records on 7 Feb 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Salome
Brian Sullivan, Hans Hotter, Ljuba Welitsch, Set Svanholm, Fritz Reiner, Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House
Opera - Released by OperaPrima on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Schwanengesang & Die Post
Classical - Released by SWRmusic on 28 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Winterreise (Hotter) (1942)
Classical - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 12 Jul 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hans Hotter in frühen Aufnahmen
Classical - Released by Preiser Records on 7 Feb 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, No. 8, No. 9
Aase Nordmo Løvberg, Christa Ludwig, Waldemar Kmentt, Hans Hotter, Otto Klemperer, The Philharmonia Orchestra - The Philharmonia Chorus
Symphonic Music - Released by Infinity on 4 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert · winterreise
Hans Hotter, Michael Raucheisen
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on 28 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In Memoriam Hans Hotter (1942-1945)
Hans Hotter, Michael Raucheisen
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 3 Jul 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner & Schubert: Opera Selections & Lieder
Classical - Released by Archipel on 30 May 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss : Capriccio (München 1953)
Viorica Ursuleac, Rudolf Schock, Hans Braun, Hans Hotter, Karl Schmitt-Walter, Clemens Krauss
Classical - Released by OperaPrima-Carillon on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art Of Hans Hotter
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Cantata Bwv 82 - Handel: Arias (Recordings of 1950 & 1951)
Hans Hotter, Philharmonia Orchestra, Anthony Bernard, George Weldon
Pop - Released by Festive Music on 30 Nov 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Hans Hotter, Gustav Neidlinger, Erich Witte
Opera - Released by Urania on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo