Kurt Böhme

Kurt Böhme was a German bass who studied with Adolf Kluge at the Dresden Conservatory and made his debut at Bautzen in 1930, singing both Kaspar and, after a costume change mid-performance, the Hermit in Der Freischütz. He joined the Dresden Staatsoper that year, creating Count Dominik in Arabella in 1933 and Vanuzzi in Die schweigsame Frau in 1935, and later became a celebrated interpreter of the latter opera's Sir Morosus. He moved to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in 1949 and the Vienna State Opera in 1955, and was above all known for Baron Ochs, a role he first sang in 1942 and kept singing for four decades.