Hans Wallat (18 October 1929 – 11 December 2014) was a German conductor, GMD in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, at the

Nationaltheater Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre (german: Nationaltheater Mannheim) is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18 ...

Theater Dortmund Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and o ...

and

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, th ...

. A specialist for the stage works of Richard Wagner, he appeared at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

and internationally.

Career

Born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, he studied with Rudolf Neuhaus in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

. He worked at theatres in Schwerin,

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

, the

Meiningen Court Theatre The Staatstheater Meiningen (State Theatre Meiningen), also called the Meiningen Theatre, is a four-division theater in the Thuringian town of Meiningen, Germany. The theater was founded in 1831 and was called ″Meininger Hoftheater″ (Meiningen ...

and in

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

. In 1958, Wallat was appointed ''Erster Kapellmeister'' at the

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspi ...

. He left the GDR shortly before the

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

was built, and was ''Erster Kapellmeister'' at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

from 1964. Wallat specialised in German opera, focussed on the works of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

. In 1965 he became

Generalmusikdirektor A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

(GMD) in

. In 1968, he stepped in for

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...

to conduct performances of ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' and ''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner claim ...

'' at the

. He was the regular conductor of the ''Meistersinger'' in 1970 and of the ''Holländer'' in 1971. He was in demand internationally, including the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

and the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

. His debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

was on 7 October 1971 Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

'', with

Ingrid Bjoner Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint (8 November 1927 – 4 September 2006) was a Norwegian soprano who had an international opera career between 1956 and 1990. She was particularly celebrated for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and for her perfo ...

James McCracken James McCracken (December 16, 1926 – April 29, 1988) was an American operatic tenor. At the time of his death ''The New York Times'' stated that McCracken was "the most successful dramatic tenor yet produced by the United States and a pill ...

, William Dooley,

Giorgio Tozzi Giorgio Tozzi (January 8, 1923 – May 30, 2011) was an American operatic bass. He was a mainstay for many years with the Metropolitan Opera, and sang principal bass roles in nearly every major opera house worldwide. Career Tozzi was born Georg ...

and

Judith Blegen Judith Blegen (April 27, 1943, Lexington, Kentucky) is an American soprano, particularly associated with light lyric roles of the French, Italian and German repertories. Life and career Blegen was raised and attended high school in Missoula, Mon ...

in leading roles. Wallat conducted more than 90 Ring Cycles and was regarded as one of the work's most knowledgeable conductors. Wallat was GMD at

from 1970 to 1980. In 1980, he conducted Wagner's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'' at the

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the city's court th ...

, with

Jean Cox Jean Cox (January 16, 1922 – June 24, 2012) was an American tenor. Early years Cox was born in Gadsden, Alabama. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II era as a pilot. After obtaining a degree in Music from the ...

in the title role and

Hannelore Bode Hannelore Bode (born 2 August 1941) is a German operatic soprano. She performed at the Bayreuth Festival from 1968 to 1978, including Elsa in ''Lohengrin'', Eva in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', and several parts in the 1976 Jahrhundertri ...

as Elisabeth. He was GMD at the

from 1980 to 1985. From 1986 to 1996 he was GMD at the

. He chose a contemporary opera, Wolfgang Fortner's ''

Bluthochzeit (''Blood Wedding'') is an opera () in two acts by Wolfgang Fortner. The libretto, also by Fortner, is based on German translation of Federico García Lorca, García Lorca's 1933 play ''Blood Wedding, Bodas de sangre''. It premiered at the Cologne ...

'', staged by

Kurt Horres Kurt Horres (28 November 1932 – 2 January 2023) was a German stage director, particularly of opera, and opera manager. He held positions as general manager at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, the Hamburg State Opera, and from 1986 to 1996 at the ...

, for his debut at the Opernhaus Düsseldorf on 12 October 1986. In 1996 Wallat was named Honorary Conductor of the . Wallat conducted Wagner's ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

'', ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' and ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

'' at the . In honour of his 75th birthday, the

Konzerthaus Dortmund Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and o ...

produced in 2003 and 2004 the ''Wallat-Ring'', a half-scenic performance of the Ring Cycle with international soloists, staged by

Ulrich Andreas Vogt Ulrich Andreas Vogt (born 6 August 1952) is a German businessman, director of the Vogt-Gruppe. He was a tenor at the Opernhaus Dortmund and founding director of the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Born in Dortmund, Vogt studied at the conservatory piano a ...

and played by the

Dortmunder Philharmoniker The Dortmunder Philharmoniker (Dortmund Philharmonic) are a German symphony orchestra based in Dortmund. The orchestra of the Theater Dortmund performs opera in the Opernhaus Dortmund and concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund. The orchestra was ...

. He was supposed to receive the German

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

after a performance of ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as p ...

'' on 17 October 2004, planned to be conducted by him. Wolfgang Wagner and other celebrities who had worked with him were present, but he was too ill to attend. The performance was conducted by

Ralf Weikert Ralf Weikert (born 10 November 1940) is an Austrian conductor, especially of operas by Mozart and Rossini. He is an academic teacher of conducting in Luzern. Born in Sankt Florian, Weikert studied at the Bruckner conservatory in Linz and the Hoch ...

, with Gabriele Schnaut as Brünnhilde, Stig Andersen as Siegfried, and

Waltraud Meier Waltraud Meier (born 9 January 1956) is a German dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano singer. She is particularly known for her Wagnerian roles as Kundry, Isolde, Ortrud, Venus, Fricka, and Sieglinde, but has also had success in the French and ...

as Waltraute. Wallat died in

Hilden Hilden is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town with a forest and numer ...

in December 2014 at the age of 85.

Awards

In 2004, Wallat received the German Cross of the Order of Merit. In 2009, he became an honorary member of the

. In 2010 he was awarded the ''

Duisburger Musikpreis The Musikpreis der Stadt Duisburg, also Duisburger Musikpreis was established in 1990 by the for the Promotion of Art and Science. This international music prize is intended to highlight "outstanding achievements in the field of music". The foun ...

'' (Duisburg music prize).

References

External links

* *
ans Wallat

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallat, Hans German male conductors (music) 20th-century German conductors (music) Music directors (opera) Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1929 births 2014 deaths Musicians from Berlin 20th-century German male musicians