Bass-baritone Rudolf Bockelmann studied with Oscar Lassner and Scheidemantel. He made his debut in Leipzig (1921) as the Herald in Lohengrin. He was leading Heldenbariton at Hamburg from 1926-32 and at the Berlin Staatsoper from 1932-45. He sang regularly at Bayreuth from 1928, as the Dutchman, Gunther, Kurwenal, Sachs and Wotan, and in 1930 he created the title role in Krenek’s Leben des Orest in Leipzig. He sang at Covent Garden (1929, 1930 and 1934-38) and with the Chicago Civic Opera (1930-32). Bockelmann had a beautiful voice of sympathetic quality and sustained with ease the long Wagnerian roles. Although a dignified and authoritative Wotan, he could not encompass the moments of towering rage. Nevertheless, his warm, mellow voice, his feeling for poetry and his artistry made his interpretation of Hans Sachs one of the greatest of the century. (Harold Rosenthal)
This recording from Act II, Scene 4 was made at the Staatsoper Berlin in 1933.