Paul Bulß (19 December 1847 – 19 March 1902) was a German baritone, mostly in opera but also in concert and recital, who appeared at leading court opera houses including Dresden, Berlin and Vienna. He appeared in title roles such as Mozart's Don Giovanni, Marschner's Hans Heiling, Rossini's

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

and Wagner's Holländer. He created roles in several world premieres, such as in Kienzl's ''

Der Evangelimann ''Der Evangelimann'' (''The Evangelist'') is an opera in two acts by the Austrian composer Wilhelm Kienzl. The libretto, by the composer, is based on short story "". It was adapted in 1924 as a silent film '' The Evangelist''. Composition hi ...

'' and ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

''.

Life

Born in the Birkholz estate,

Prignitz Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, th ...

district in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

,"Paul Bulß"
''

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon ' or ' was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the '. Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended t ...

'', 1892 Bulß, son of the manor's owner, was discovered by his singing teacher

Ferdinand Möhring Ferdinand Möhring (18 January 1816 – 1 May 1887) was a German composer, poet, conductor and organist. Personal life Möhring was born in Alt Ruppin as the son of the master carpenter Johann Friedrich Möhring and spent his childhood and yo ...

at the

Neuruppin Neuruppin (; North Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Fontane (1819–1898) and therefore also referred to as ''Font ...

grammar school. He studied voice with

Eduard Mantius Jacob Eduard Mantius (18 January 1806 – 4 July 1874) was a German operatic tenor, composer and voice teacher. Life Born in Schwerin, at the request of his father, a factory owner, Mantius began studying law at the University of Rostock in t ...

in Vienna, Gustav Engel in Berlin and Emil Goetze in Leipzig. He made his debut as the Tsar in Lortzing's ''

Zar und Zimmermann ''Zar und Zimmermann'' (''Tsar and Carpenter'') is a comic opera in three acts, music by Albert Lortzing, libretto by the composer after Georg Christian Römer's ''Der Bürgermeister von Saardam, oder Die zwei Peter'', itself based on the French p ...

'' at the municipal theatre in Lübeck in 1868. He worked at the

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German language, 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 th ...

from 1869, and at the Court Theatre in Kassel from 1870, where he remained until 1876. From Kassel, he made his first concert debut at the Leipzig

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The f ...

, and it was so successful that he became a member of the ensemble in 1876. He appeared there on 1 August 1876 in the title role of Wagner's ''

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 cla ...

''. He won the favour of the audience, and the recognition of King

Albert of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus Albert Anthony Ferdinand Joseph Charles Maria Baptist Nepomuk William Xavier George Fidelis , image = Albert of Saxony by Nicola Perscheid c1900.jpg , image_size = , caption = Photograph by Nicola Persch ...

, who appointed him Royal

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male) or Kammersängerin (female), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or ...

after only three years of service. Bulß was a member of the court theatre in Berlin from 1889 until his retirement in 1901. He appeared there as Tonio in the first production at the house of Leoncavallo's '' Der Bajazzo'' in 1882. He created the role of Johannes Freudhofer in Wilhelm Kienzl's ''

'' in 1895, and the title of Kienzl's ''

'' in 1898. At 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 ...

, he appeared as Escamillo in Bizet's '' Carmen'', Wolfram in ''

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 ...

'', Luna in Verdi's ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'', and in the title roles of ''Zar und Zimmermann'' and Wagner's ''Der fliegende Holländer''. Bulß performed title roles such as Mozart's '' Don Giovanni'', Marschner's '' Hans Heiling'', , Rossini's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'', and roles such as Wolfram in Wagner's ''

'', the Prince in '' Das Nachtlager in Granada'' and Renato in Verdi's ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. Th ...

''. Bulß was also a concert singer and especially lieder recitalist. He took part in the 1893 world premiere of Mahler's ''

Des Knaben Wunderhorn ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder'' (German; "The boy's magic horn: old German songs") is a collection of German folk poems and songs edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and published in Heidelberg, Baden. The book was p ...

'' in Hamburg. Guest performances took him to Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Russia, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. On a concert tour through Hungary, he died in Temesvar of the consequences of pneumonia, which he had contracted during the journey due to a cold.

Family

Bulß was married to Olga Eva Dirut (1852–1906). The educator and social politician (1876–1967) was their daughter."Bulß, Paul"

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

Life

Family

References

Further reading