Karl Schmitt-Walter
Karl Schmitt-Walter (23 December 1900 – 14 January 1985) was a prominent German opera singer, particularly associated with
Wagner
baritone roles.
Life and career
Schmitt-Walter was born in
Munich State Opera
.
Outside the Austro-German operatic heartland, he made guest appearances at the
Liceo in Barcelona, La Monnaie in Brussels and the Holland Festival
, among other major European venues.
Schmitt-Walter possessed a comparatively light, high-baritone voice of great beauty and was equipped with an exceptionally good singing technique. He was particularly admired in Mozart and Wagner roles, notably
lieder interpreter, too. In 1957 he was appointed professor at the State Music University in Munich. He was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit for the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bavarian Order of Merit. The King of Denmark awarded him the Order of Merit (Dannebrogorden). From 1962, he taught in Munich and Copenhagen and died in Bavaria
at the age of 84.
Selected Recordings
- Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Bayreuth 1960, conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch.
- Die Zauberflöte, Salzburg, 1949, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler.
Selected filmography
- Whom the Gods Love (1942)
