Herbert Janssen (Cologne, Germany, September 22, 1892 - New York, June 3, 1965) was an American nationalized German baritone.
He studied law and served in the First World War. He made his debut in 1922 at the Staatsoper Berlin where he was part of the cast until 1938, obtaining great success in roles of Wagner, Verdi and the French repertoire. In 1938, due to the Nazi regime, he left Germany and left for Buenos Aires, at the request of Arturo Toscanini, who asked for his Fidelio in Salzburg in 1944. He then settled in the United States singing in Philadelphia and the Metropolitan Opera of New York between 1939 and 1952. It was much needed in North American opera companies. Between 1937 and 1948 he regularly sang the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, he was a star at Covent Garden (1926 - 1939) and at the Bayreuth Festival (1930 - 1937), where he was invited to dinner with Adolf Hitler . Janssen replied, "I can sing for him, but I do not sit at his table," which earned him the enmity and censorship of the Nazis. Janssen had to flee that night and his wife was questioned by the Nazis. After the interrogation, she also fled to Buenos Aires, thanks to Toscanini
Ideal as a Wagnerian singer was much appreciated as Kurwenal, Wolfram, Amfortas, Gunther, Telramund, Kothner, Donner, Heerrufer.
His late appearances such as Wotan and Hans Sachs were not so successful because their record actually belonged to the baritone and not the baritone.
wiki
