Walter Kreppel

Walter Kreppel (3 June 1923 – 18 October 2003) was a German bass singer, known for his performances in operatic roles in Europe and the US. Starting his career in his native Nuremberg he progressed to membership of major opera companies, including the Bavarian State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. Among his roles on record, the best known is Fasolt in the first published recording of Das Rheingold.

Life and career Kreppel was born in Nuremberg on 3 June 1923. Attracted to the stage as a career, he studied singing at the Nuremberg Conservatory, making his debut in that city in 1945 as Tommaso in Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland. He remained with the Nuremberg company until 1948, continually adding roles to his repertoire. He progressed through the provincial German houses including Hanover (1953–1956) and Frankfurt-am-Main (1956–1959); he joined the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in 1959. During these years he began to build an international career, not only in the German repertoire but in roles including Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro, King Philip in Don Carlos, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Ramphis in Aida, Gremin in Eugene Onegin, and Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande. Other parts in his repertoire included Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, Pogner in Die Meistersinger and Gurnemanz in Parsifal.

In 1967 Kreppel sang the Commendatore in Don Giovanni when the Vienna company visited Montreal for Expo 67. made in Vienna in 1958.