Schock, Rudolf (Johann)

Schock, Rudolf (Johann), German tenor; b. Duisburg, Sept. 4, 1915; d. Duren-Gürzenich, Nov. 13, 1986. He studied in Cologne, Hannover, and with Robert von der Linde and Laurenz Hofer in Berlin. At the age of 18, he joined the chorus of the Duisburg Opera. In 1937 he made his operatic debut in Braunschweig, where he sang until 1940. After singing in Hannover (1945) and at the Berlin State Opera (1946), he was a member of the Hamburg State Opera (1947–56), with which company he visited the Edinburgh Festival (1952). In 1948 he made his first appearance at the Salzburg Festival as Idomeneo and in 1951 his debut at the Vienna State Opera. In 1959 he made his Bayreuth Festival debut as Walther von Stolzing. He also appeared in operetta. Among his other roles were Tamino, Florestan, Max in Der Freischütz, and Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. His autobiography was pubi, as Ach ich hah’ in meinerm Herzen (Berlin and Munich, 1985).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

Schock, Rudolf (Johann) (b Duisburg, 1915; d Gürzenich, 1986). Ger. tenor. Opera début Duisburg, then sang chiefly in Berlin, Hamburg (1947–56), and Munich, joining Vienna Opera 1953. CG début 1949 (Rodolfo in La bohème); Salzburg début 1948; Bayreuth 1959. Created Ercole in Liebermann's Penelope, Salzburg 1954. Later sang operetta and for films and TV.

Glauber's salt(s) sulphate of sodium. XVIII. named after Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604–68), German chemist, by whom it was first artificially made.