Böhme, Kurt (Gerhard)

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Böhme, Kurt (Gerhard)

Böhme, Kurt (Gerhard), distinguished German bass; b. Dresden, May 5, 1908; d. Munich, Dec. 20, 1989. He was a student of Adolf Kluge at the Dresden Cons. In 1930 he made his operatic debut as Caspar in Der Freischütz at the Dresden State Opera, where he remained as one of its principal artists until 1950; then was a member of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 1936 he made his first appearance at London’s Covent Garden with the visiting Dresden State Opera; later made regular appearances there from 1956 to 1970; he also was a guest artist in Vienna, Bayreuth, and Milan. On Nov. 11, 1954, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Pogner, and was again on its roster in 1956-57. Böhme was especially admired for his Wagnerian roles, but he also won great acclaim as Baron Ochs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire