Ahlersmeyer, Mathieu

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Ahlersmeyer, Mathieu

Ahlersmeyer, Mathieu, German baritone; b. Cologne, June 29, 1896; d. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, July 23, 1979. He studied in Cologne. In 1929 he made his operatic debut as Wolfram in Mönchengladbach, and then sang at the Berlin Kroll Opera (1930–31) and the Hamburg Opera (1931–33). From 1934 to 1945 he was a member of the Dresden State Opera, where he created the Barber in Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau (June 14, 1935). In 1938 he created the role of Egk’s Peer Gynt at the Berlin State Opera. From 1946 to 1961 he sang at the Hamburg State Opera, and again from 1962 to 1973. His prominent roles included Don Giovanni, Hans Sachs, Rigoletto, Scarpia, and HindemitiYs Matthias Grüne-wald.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire