Opera Singer. A bass-baritone, he is remembered for his long career at the Berlin State Opera as well as at Wagner's Bayreuth Festspielhaus and other major venues. Raised and trained in his native city, he made his 1910 professional debut at Dusseldorf as Kaspar from Weber's "Die Freischutz", joined the Berlin State Opera in 1912, and in 1914 bowed at both Covent Garden and Bayreuth. Over his time before the public he was known primarily as a Wagnerian, singing both Hunding and Wotan from "The Ring Cycle", King Heinrich of "Lohengrin", Daland from "The Flying Dutchman", King Marke in "Tristan und Isolde", Gurnemanz from "Parsifal", and Hans Sachs in "Die Meistersinger". In addition, he sang Sarastro of Mozart's "The Magic Flute", the evil Baron Scarpia in Puccini's "Tosca", Baron Ochs in Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier", and the devil Mepsistopheles of Gounod's "Faust". Bohnen bowed at the Metropolitan Opera in March of 1923 and performed there for nine seasons while also appearing in Buenos Aires during the early 1930s. Over the years he also had a significant film career in both silent and sound features, even taking the role of Baron Ochs in a silent 1926 "Der Rosenkavalier"; during World War II he kept singing while taking-on administrative duties at the Berlin State Opera, but afterwards he was accused by a colleague of Nazi associations, charges later shown to be false but which nevertheless cast a long shadow. Bohnen was awarded the Goethe Prize in 1952 and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957, but still was forced to live out his days on a small pension and died broke. His recorded legacy, which covers the years from 1912 on, is fairly significant and is for the most part preserved on CD.
Opera Singer. A bass-baritone, he is remembered for his long career at the Berlin State Opera as well as at Wagner's Bayreuth Festspielhaus and other major venues. Raised and trained in his native city, he made his 1910 professional debut at Dusseldorf as Kaspar from Weber's "Die Freischutz", joined the Berlin State Opera in 1912, and in 1914 bowed at both Covent Garden and Bayreuth. Over his time before the public he was known primarily as a Wagnerian, singing both Hunding and Wotan from "The Ring Cycle", King Heinrich of "Lohengrin", Daland from "The Flying Dutchman", King Marke in "Tristan und Isolde", Gurnemanz from "Parsifal", and Hans Sachs in "Die Meistersinger". In addition, he sang Sarastro of Mozart's "The Magic Flute", the evil Baron Scarpia in Puccini's "Tosca", Baron Ochs in Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier", and the devil Mepsistopheles of Gounod's "Faust". Bohnen bowed at the Metropolitan Opera in March of 1923 and performed there for nine seasons while also appearing in Buenos Aires during the early 1930s. Over the years he also had a significant film career in both silent and sound features, even taking the role of Baron Ochs in a silent 1926 "Der Rosenkavalier"; during World War II he kept singing while taking-on administrative duties at the Berlin State Opera, but afterwards he was accused by a colleague of Nazi associations, charges later shown to be false but which nevertheless cast a long shadow. Bohnen was awarded the Goethe Prize in 1952 and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957, but still was forced to live out his days on a small pension and died broke. His recorded legacy, which covers the years from 1912 on, is fairly significant and is for the most part preserved on CD.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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