He studied voice at the conservatory in Den Haag and started his career in the Netherlands. In 1936/37, he sang in Hanau
(Germany), 1938–42 in Düsseldorf, 1942–47 at the Hamburg Staatsoper, and 1947–55 in Basel. Guest
appearances in Zürich, Bern, Lucerne, Sankt Gallen, Frankfurt, Mainz, Kassel, Amsterdam, Den Haag, and at the Théâtre de
la Monnaie in Brussels. He also sang a lot on the radio. Few studio recordings, all operetta; in opera, he was only
recorded on the radio.
He sang a surprisingly wide repertory: Tamino, Don Ottavio, Ferrando, Lyonel, Nicolai's Fenton, Almaviva, Lindoro, Duca,
Alfredo, Don Carlo, Massenet's des Grieux, Florestan, Chapelou, Ernesto, Jeník, Nureddin, Grigorij, Narraboth, Symon
(Bettelstudent), Tassilo (Gräfin Mariza), Barinkay, Sou-Chong, Don José, Pinkerton, Cavaradossi,
Steuermann, Alfred (Leonore 40/45 by Rolf Liebermann, world premiere, Basel 1952), Gonzalo (Don Ranudo by
Othmar Schoeck). He also participated in the world premiere of Ottmar Gerster's Die Hexe von Passau (Düsseldorf
1941), probably in the role of Jörg Saltbogen, but I'm not entirely sure.
Reference 1; reference 2: Kutsch & Riemens
Source for the Zigeunerbaron recording
|