Adolf Bassermann

Born 1 May 1866 in Karlsruhe, he was a stage actor in his home town from 1888 to 1892. Then he studied voice with Gustav Jung, and started a second career as a tenor in Mainz in 1893. He further sang in Mannheim (1894/95), where he was fired when his own uncle, actor and impresario August Bassermann, took over the direction of the theater; next, he was in Darmstadt for one year, and from 1896 in Königsberg (today Kaliningrad), 1898/99 again in Darmstadt, and the next three years again in Königsberg.

He specialized in Wagner (Loge, Siegfried, Tristan, Tannhäuser), but sang also Raoul and Éléazar. His highly praised acting abilities seem to have been much superior to his singing. His brother Albert was a really famous stage actor, but they were obviously not very close to each other.

About Adolf Bassermann's later life, information is scarce. He appeared in a few silent movies as an actor, and is said to have died in 1943.

Reference: Einhard Luther, So viel der Helden. Biographie eines Stimmfaches, Teil 3: Wagnertenöre der Kaiserzeit (1871–1918), Berlin 2006

Picture source: Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main