Pistor, Gotthelf

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Pistor, Gotthelf

Pistor, Gotthelf , German tenor; b. Berlin, Oct. 17, 1887; d. Cologne, April 4, 1947. He began his career as an actor in Berlin. Following vocal training from Luria, he made his operatic debut in Nuremberg in 1923. He had engagements in Würzburg (1924–25), Darmstadt (1925–27), and Magdeburg (1928–29) before serving as a principal member of the Cologne Opera (from 1929). He also made guest appearances at the Bayreuth Festivals (1925; 1927–31), at the Zoppot Festivals (1930–38), and in San Francisco (1931). In his last years, he taught voice in Cologne. Pistor was esteemed for such Wagnerian roles as Tristan, Parsifal, Siegfried, and Siegmund.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire