Sotin, Hans

Sotin, Hans, notable German bass; b. Dortmund, Sept. 10, 1939. He was a student of F.W. Hetzel and then of Dieter Jacob at the Dortmund Hochschule für Musik. In 1962 he made his operatic debut as the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier in Essen. After joining the Hamburg State Opera in 1964, he quickly became one of its principal members singing not only traditional roles but creating new roles in works by Blacher, Einem, Penderecki et al. His success led to his being made a Hamburg Kammersänger. In 1970 he made his first appearance at the Glyndebourne Festival as Sarastro. He made his debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera as the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos in 1971. That same year he sang for the first time at the Bayreuth Festival as the Landgrave, where he subsequently returned with success in later years. On Oct. 26, 1972, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Sarastro. From 1973 he sang at the Vienna State Opera. He made his debut at London’s Covent Garden as Hunding in 1974. In 1976 he sang for the first time at Milan’s La Scala as Baron Ochs. He also appeared as a soloist with the leading European orchs. In 1986 he returned to Covent Garden as Baron Ochs. In 1988 he sang Lodovico in Otello at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1992 he appeared as the Landgrave in Berlin. His portrayals of Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and Gurnemanz at the 1993 Bayreuth Festival elicited critical accolades. He returned there as the Landgrave and Gurnemanz in 1995. In 1998 he was engaged as Pogner at the Metropolitan Opera. In addition to his varied operatic repertoire, Sotin has won distinction for his concert repertoire, most particularly of the music of Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, and Mahler.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire