Fritz Hübner (25 April 1933 – 16 June 2000Fritz Hübner
profile, repertoire) was a German operatic

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

. Active from the late 1950s through the 1980s, he was particularly known for his performances in operas by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. He was born in Sachsengrün, Sudetenland (Zakšov in the Doupov Mountains of the former Czechoslovakia), and studied at the

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

Conservatory before making his opera debut as Sparafucile in '' Rigoletto'' at the Bernburg Landestheater in 1957. He sang the roles of Fafner and Hagen in '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

(1976–1980), performing in the "Hundredth Anniversary Ring" conducted by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

and recorded for Philips Records. Hübner sang in the world premieres of

Siegfried Matthus Siegfried Matthus (13 April 1934 – 27 August 2021) was a German composer, conductor, and festival founder and manager. Some of his operas, such as '' Judith'', were premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin in East Berlin. In 1991, he founded the ...

's '' Der letzte Schuss'' (''The Last Shot'') 1966,

Ernst Hermann Meyer Ernst Hermann Ludimar Meyer (8 December 1905 – 8 October 1988) was a German composer and musicologist, noted for his expertise on seventeenth-century English chamber music. Life Meyer was born in Berlin. He received his first piano lessons ...

's ''Reiter in der Nacht'' (''Rider in the Night'') 1973, and Rainer Kunad's ''Sabellicus'' 1974. Although he performed primarily in German opera houses, he sang at New York's Metropolitan Opera as Hermann in seven performances of '' Tannhäuser'' during the 1982-1983 season. Hübner died aged 67 in Berlin.

Recordings

*'' Götterdämmerung'' – Orchestra and Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival; Pierre Boulez, conductor (1979) Label: Philips Records *''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' – Orchestra and Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival; Pierre Boulez, conductor (1980) Label: Philips Records *'' Das Rheingold'' – Orchestra and Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival; Pierre Boulez, conductor (1980) Label: Philips Records

References

Bayreuther Festspiele The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived a ...

Biography: Fritz Hübner
(in German). Accessed 30 October 2010. *Cummings, David (ed.)
"Hubner, Fritz"
''International Who's Who in Classical Music'', Routledge, 2000, p. 300. * Metropolitan Opera Performance Archives
Hübner, Fritz (Bass)
MetOpera Database. Accessed 30 October 2010.

External links

* * 1933 births 2000 deaths German operatic basses Czechoslovak people of German descent Naturalized citizens of Germany 20th-century German male opera singers {{Germany-opera-singer-stub