Ronald Hamilton is an American tenor who was born in Hamilton, Ohio, to a musical family. He began studying medicine, but decided on a singing career.
In 1972 he was engaged by the opera in Ulm. In 1975 he signed a contract with Dortmund and, in 1977, with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. In the 1985-86 season he performed the role of Alwa in Lulu. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in this role in 1988, opposite Catherine Malfitano and Tatiana Troyanos, in John Dexter's production conducted by James Levine.
Hamilton appeared regularly with the companies of Leipzig, Dresden, Buenos Aires, and Berlin (Staatsoper) in the roles of Florestan (Fidelio), Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos), Lohengrin, and Walther von Stolzing (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), appearing as Stolzing in a Staatsoper tour of Japan. In 1988-89 and in 1989-90, he regularly appeared at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Der fliegende Holländer, Der Freischütz, Oberon, Lohengrin, and Die Meistersinger). Also in his répertoire are the roles of Tristan in Tristan und Isolde, Aegisth in Elektra, the Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten, and the Leper in Saint François d'Assise.
Hamilton made his Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie debut in 1988, in Lulu. He then appeared in the role of Skuratov in From the House of the Dead. In 1990 he sang the important role of St Simeon Stylites in Hans Zender's Stephen Climax . At the Salzburg Festival in 1990 he sang Orpheus in Ernst Krenek's Orpheus und Eurydice with Dunja Vejzovic.
Some of his recordings are: Orpheus und Eurydice (of Krenek, 1990) and Stephen Climax (with Dale Duesing, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling, 1990) and, on DVD, Wozzeck (as the Drum-Major, opposite Duesing, 1996).
Günther Treptow was a German operatic tenor, best known for Wagner roles.
Dunja Vejzović is an operatic mezzo-soprano and soprano from Croatia.
Bernd Aldenhoff was a German Heldentenor.
Gerd Brenneis was a German operatic tenor who had an active international career from the late 1950s through the 1990s. Known for his interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner, he worked as a principal artist at many of the world's great opera houses, including the Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Vienna State Opera.
Johannes Martin Kränzle is a German baritone in opera and concert who has made an international career. For years a member of the Oper Frankfurt, he was chosen as Singer of the Year in 2011 after creating the leading role in Wolfgang Rihm's Dionysos at the Salzburg Festival. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House as Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and at the Bayreuth Festival as Beckmesser in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2017.
Victor von Halem was a German operatic bass. He was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin for nearly 30 years as well as a guest singer in the major opera houses and festivals of Europe and North America. He sang a wide repertoire encompassing over 100 roles, including King Philipp in Verdi's Don Carlo and Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Albert Dohmen is a German operatic bass-baritone who is known internationally for performing leading roles by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. He has also worked in concert halls and given lieder recitals.
Heinz Kruse was a German opera singer (tenor).
Karl-Heinz Thiemann, is a German operatic tenor.
Ruth Hesse is a German dramatic mezzo-soprano. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1995, and appeared internationally, including the Bayreuth Festival and the Salzburg Festival. She appeared regularly at the Vienna State Opera from 1965 to 1988, and was appointed an Austrian Kammersängerin in 1982. In Berlin, she took part in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord.
Hans Günter Nöcker was a German operatic bass-baritone who was based at the Bavarian State Opera for decades, performing in several world premieres including Aribert Reimann's Lear, and also had an international career.
Heinz Imdahl was a German operatic baritone. A member of the Bavarian State Opera, he performed many leading roles at the Vienna State Opera, and appeared as Beethoven's Pizarro at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and Wagner's Hans Sachs at the Philadelphia Opera.
Josef Hopferwieser was an Austrian operatic tenor.
Michael Volle is a German operatic baritone. After engagements at several German and Swiss opera houses, he has worked freelance since 2011. While he first appeared in Mozart roles such as Guglielmo, Papageno and Don Giovanni, he moved on to title roles such as Verdi's Falstaff, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Alban Berg's Wozzeck. He has performed at major opera houses in Europe and the Metropolitan Opera, in roles including Mandryka in Arabella and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. His awards include Singer of the Year by Opernwelt and Der Faust.
Grace Hoffman was an American operatic mezzo-soprano and academic teacher. Based at the Staatsoper Stuttgart from 1955 to 1992, she performed roles such as Verdi's Azucena and Eboli at leading opera houses in Europe and the Americas. Her signature role was Wagner's Brangäne, performed at the Bayreuth Festival, among others.
Endrik Wottrich was a German operatic tenor.
Michaela Kaune is a German operatic soprano.
Hermann Wiedemann was a German operatic baritone and academic teacher. He was a long-term member of the Imperial Court Opera in Vienna from 1916, where he appeared as Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss 196 times, and as Beckmesser in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 155 times. He was Beckmesser also in a recording from the Salzburg Festival 1937, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. He performed internationally at leading opera houses and festivals, such as the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires and the Zoppoter Festspiele. He appeared in the world premieres of Wolf-Ferrari's I gioielli della Madonna in Berlin, Busoni's Die Brautwahl in Hamburg, and Lehár's Giuditta in Vienna.
Michael Kraus is an Austrian operatic baritone.
Erich Witte was a German stage actor, operatic tenor and opera director. He was based for almost five decades at the Berlin State Opera, and performed leading roles at major opera houses in Europe and at the Metropolitan opera. He participated in world premieres, including Louise Talma's Die Alkestiade and Alan Bush's Joe Hill.