Peter Hofmann

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Peter Hofmann (b. 22 August 1944, Marienbad) is a German operatic tenor. Concentrating on the heldentenor roles of Wagner, he has performed Siegmund, Lohengrin, Parsifal, Tristan and Loge, notably at the Bayreuth Festival.

Starting his singing career as a rock singer, he studied singing in Karlsruhe and made his opera debut in 1969 in Lübeck, as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. He subsequently appeared in Stuttgart, Paris, Vienna, London, Chicago and San Francisco. He first appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 1976.

He was heard at the Metropolitan Opera from 1980 to 1988, in Lohengrin, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger and Die Walküre.

[edit] Recordings

From Bayreuth, Hofmann appears as Siegmund in the 1980 Die Walküre (with Dame Gwyneth Jones as Brünnhilde) conducted by Pierre Boulez, in Patrice Chéreau's 1976 Ring production (Deutsche Grammophon DVD ASIN: B0009F2EPU), and in the title role of the 1982 Lohengrin (opposite Karan Armstrong as Elsa) conducted by Woldemar Nelsson (EuroArts EUA 2072028), in Götz Friedrich's production.

In the studio, he made recordings of Die Zauberflöte (with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, 1978), Fidelio (conducted by Sir Georg Solti, 1979), Parsifal (opposite Dunja Vejzovic's Kundry, led by Herbert von Karajan, 1979-80), Orfeo ed Euridice (1982) and Der fliegende Holländer (with José van Dam and Vejzovic, conducted by von Karajan, 1981-83). Hofmann is also heard in Leonard Bernstein's "live" recording of Tristan und Isolde (1981).

In 1987, Hallmark published "Songs for the Holidays," featuring Hofmann and the soprano Deborah Sasson. He has been suffering from Parkinson's disease since 1994.