Walter Schneider (bass)


Walter Schneider was a German operatic bass.

Professional career

Born in Bretzenheim, his initial musical ambition was to become a conductor, but in the end he decided on a singing career. His first engagement was at the Cologne Opera in 1903. During the 1904-1905 season he was engaged at the Stadttheater in Aachen. In 1905 he moved to the Frankfurt Opera: he was a member of this opera house for the remainder of his professional career, singing more than 200 roles in over 4000 performances. His repertoire included several major Wagner bass roles. He sang in several world premiere performances: Franz Schreker's Der ferne Klang, Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin and Die Gezeichneten, Frederick Delius's Fennimore and Gerda, Rudi Stephan's Die ersten Menschen, and Eugen d'Albert's Der Golem. In December 1934 he made his final appearance in Frankfurt as Mephisto in Charles Gounod's Faust, the same role in which he had made his Frankfurt debut nineteen years earlier. He died in Frankfurt on 22 May 1935.