Walter Kirchhoff

Walter Kirchhoff (born Walther August Kirchhoff; 17 March 1879 – 26 or 29 March 1951) was a German tenor who had an active international career in operas and concerts from 1906 through 1934.

Prior to his career as an opera singer, he was a military officer in the cavalry division of the Imperial German Army. He later served Wilhelm, German Crown Prince as an adjutant during World War I while working as a resident artist at the Berlin Royal Opera where he had a lengthy performance career that spanned from 1906 through 1932. Kirchhoff was particularly celebrated for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner. He sang leading roles at several prominent opera houses and festivals globally including the Bayreuth Festival, the Royal Opera House in London, the Teatro Colón, and the Vienna Court Opera. From 1926 to 1931 he was a leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He finished his career as a resident artist at the Deutsches Opernhaus in 1933–1934. After retiring from the stage, he taught on the voice faculty of the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin, and was also active in that city as a theatre director and talent agent.

Early life and education

Walter Kirchhoff was born in Berlin on 17 March 1879. and Eugen Robert Weiss, training under these teachers after being advised to do so by .

Performance career Walter Kirchhoff made his stage debut in the title role of Gounod's Faust at the Berlin Royal Opera in 1906.

In 1910, Kirchhoff starred in the world premiere of Arthur Nevin's controversial opera Poia. That same year he made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Walther von Stolzing in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, a role he repeated at Bayreuth in 1912.

Kirchhoff was a leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera (Met) in New York City from 1926 to 1931. March 1951 in Wiesbaden.