Paul Hansen

Paul Hansen (3 April 1886 – 11 November 1967) was a Danish opera singer and actor. Hansen started his opera career as a tenor but later increased his range to take on baritone roles. In 1917 Hansen, now working in Berlin, branched into silent movies and in 1919 took on the romantic lead in The Mistress of the World.

Opera career Hansen's initial occupation was as a copper-engraver but he harboured desires to become an opera singer. He later travelled to Berlin, where he studied under both Louise Reuss-Belce and Lilli Lehmann. His co-star on Cavalleria Rusticana was mezzo-soprano Emma Vilmar, who took the role of Lucia. The two became a couple and were later married. In 1922, Hansen returned to filmic opera, with an interpretation of Rudolf Lothar's libretto Tiefland. Hansen's final film was Gräfin Donelli in 1924, in which he performed the male lead alongside Henny Porten.

Partial filmography Cavalleria Rusticana (1917) Der Freischütz (1918) Weisses Gold (1918) The Woman at the Crossroads (1919) Wenn ein Mädchen hübsch ist (1919) Die Herrin der Welt, Parts V-VII (1920) Zigeunerblut (Gypsy Blood) (1920) Der Spielmann (1921) Junge Mama (1921) Die Jagd nach dem Tode (1921) Das Geheimnis der sieben Ringe (1922) Lucifer short (1922) Die Dame in Grau (1922) Die Flibustier (1922) Tania, the Woman in Chains (1922) Tiefland (Lowlands) (1922) Inge Larsen (1923) Countess Donelli (1924)