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Born: December 21, 1919 - Stapelburg/Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Died: May 17, 1980 - Hamburg, Germany |
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The German bass, Ernst Wiemann, studied singing in Hamburg and Munich with Philomena Herbst-Latour and with Paul Bender.
Ernst Wiemann began his stage career in the 1940-1941 season at the Stadttheater of Kiel and then sang at the from 1941 to 1944 at the Berlin Volkskoper. After further studies he resumed his career in 1951 at the Stadttheater of Gelsenkirchen. From 1955 to 1957 he sang at the Opera House of Nürnberg; in 1957 at the Staatsoper Hamburg. He has performed as a guest at leading theaters in Italy, Spain and France. In 1961 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, singing the role of König Heinrich in Lohengrin. He appeared at the Metropolitan Opera until 1969, especially in Wagner roles, but also in operas by Verdi and Mozart. Other theaters in which he performed as a guest include, among others, the Wiener Staatsoper, Grand Opéra Paris (1957, as Fafner), the opera houses of Nice, Bordeaux and Marseille, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Milan's La Scala, the Opera of Rome, Zürich, Dallas, New Orleans, Boston and Teatro Liceo in Barcelona. At the Covent Garden Opera in London, he was heard in 1971 as Gurnemanz in Parsifal. He also sang at the Festivals of Florence, Edinburgh, Aix-en-Provence. He also had a distinguished career in the concert hall.
Ernst Wiemann was admired for his powerful voice, voluminous bass especially in Wagnerian repertoire. He was also very successful as Rocco in Fidelio, as Arkel in Pelleas et Melisande, as King Philip in Don Carlos by Verdi and as Osmin in Entführung aus dem Serail. In 1963, he worked at the Hamburg Opera in the staged premiere of Igor Stravinsky's The Flood.
Ernst Wiemann became nationally known through numerous recordings. He can be heard in several recordings and radio broadcasts, especially from Met performances. He has LP/CD recordings on HMV-Electrola, Eurodisc (L.v. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony), Metronome-Sonopress (selections from Aida and Il Trovatore sung in German). NDR produceds several TV films on which he can be seen and heard, including as Rocco in Fidelio (1968) and as Pogner as in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1970). |
