Ludwig Hofmann (bass)


Ludwig Hofmann was a German opera singer, who from the late 1920s obtained worldwide recognition above all as an exponent of Wagnerian roles. He worked principally in the opera houses in Berlin and Vienna and in the Vienna State Opera, and from 1928 to 1942 was frequently involved in the Bayreuth Festivals.

Life

Growing up in Frankfurt am Main, he completed his secondary school there and embarked on the study of singing, which he undertook in Milan. From 1914 to 1918 he took part in the First World War. In 1918, aged 23, he made his debut as an opera singer in the Bamberg Staatstheater. After that he was engaged at the Landestheater in Dessau, at the Stadttheater in Bremen, at the Wiesbaden Staatstheater, at the Berlin Municipal Opera, at the Berlin State Opera and at the Vienna State Opera.
From 1929 until 1936 he sang at the Salzburg Festivals. From 1930 to 1938 he had guest roles at leading opera-houses in Europe and overseas.
After the Second World War he was able to resume his singing career through guest roles in Berlin, Brussels, London and Vienna. In 1953 he sang at the Salzburg Festival. His final stage appearance was as Wotan in Brussels in 1955. Thereafter he was active as a singing teacher in London.

Bayreuth Festivals

Ludwig Hofmann sang first in 1928 and later uninterruptedly from 1937 to 1942 in the Bayreuth Festivals, where he alternated in roles with Ivar Andrésen and Josef von Manowarda.