Hermann Wiedemann

Hermann Wiedemann (7 March 187921 June or 1 July 1944) was a German operatic baritone and academic teacher. He was a long-term member of the Imperial Court Opera in Vienna from 1916, where he appeared as Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss 196 times, and as Beckmesser in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 155 times. He was Beckmesser also in a recording from the Salzburg Festival 1937, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. He performed internationally at leading opera houses and festivals, such as the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires and the Zoppoter Festspiele. He appeared in the world premieres of Wolf-Ferrari's I gioielli della Madonna in Berlin, Busoni's Die Brautwahl in Hamburg, and Lehár's Giuditta in Vienna.

Life and career Wiedemann was born in the Neuhausen district of Munich. He was trained as a baritone and made his debut in 1904 at the Stadttheater Elberfeld (now part of Wuppertal) In 1930, he was awarded the title Kammersänger. It remained the only leading role of the singer that has been preserved in its entirety. James Forrest of Fanfare magazine praised the performance, when Wiedemann was already aged 58 but sang with a "well-preserved" voice.

He performed as a guest at the Liceu of Barcelona in 1927, at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1936, the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires in the 1930s, and in London as Beckmesser in 1938.

Wiedemann was also a significant concert singer. She died in 1942 and was buried in her family's grave at Hietzinger Friedhof on 13 June 1942.

According to Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon, Wiedemann died at a sanatorium in Strengberg, Lower Austria, at the age of 65.