Franz Völker (1899-1965) was one of the finest German Heldentenors of his generation. Born in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt, Völker exhibited vocal talent from an early age and began soloing with local choruses at the age of ten. After graduating from high school, the young man took a job as a bank teller. Shortly thereafter, war erupted in Europe and Völker found himself at the German front as an artillery soldier. He also assembled and conducted a chorus of fellow singing enthusiasts. An officer who heard Völker, arranged for an audition for the young tenor with the Grossherzoglichen Theater in Darmstadt. The management of the company were impressed enough with his audition to offer Völker free vocal training and career guidance. However, the economic uncertainties that followed the war’s end caused the young singer to drift back into something in which he felt secure…banking.

Although Völker had comfortably settled into the life of a banker in Frankfurt, he continued to sing with community choruses in the years following WWI. In 1925, Völker entered…and won… a singing competition sponsored by Frankfurter Rundfunk. Among the listeners who were impressed by the 26-year-old tenor was conductor Clemens Krauss, who urged the young man to study for an opera career. Following an intense 18-month period of vocal training, Völker made his operatic debut on November 2, 1926 as Florestan in Fidelio with Frankfurt Opera. His career took off quickly and Völker was soon one of Germany’s leading tenors.

Frankfurt was the tenor’s artistic home during the early days of his career. In 1931, he accepted an invitation (from mentor Clemens Krauss) to join the roster of Vienna State Opera, where he remained until 1935. Apart from several appearances at London’s Covent Garden Opera, it was in the German speaking world that Franz Völker made his career. Between 1933 and 1942 he performed regularly at the Bayreuth Festival and also made frequent appearances at Berlin State Opera, the Salzburg Festival and at Munich State Opera. Völker’s repertoire was vast, encompassing Mozart (Die Zauberflöte, Così fan Tutte), Strauss (Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Die Ägyptischer Helena), Verdi (Don Carlo, Aïda, Otello), Tchaikovsky (Pique Dame), French opera (La Juive, Carmen), verismo (Pagliacci) and even such rarely heard works as Tiefland, Der Freischütz and Dalibor. It was as a Wagnerian, however, that Völker made his mark, with appearances in Rienzi, Die Meistersinger, Lohengrin, Der Fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser and Die Walküre.

Völker retired from the operatic stage at the age of 53, but continued to appear on the recital platform well into the 1950s. After leaving public life for good, he turned his attentions to teaching. He accepted a position on the faculty of the Stuttgart College of Music and later taught privately in Frankfurt. Völker eventually settled in Darmstadt where passed away on December 4, 1965 at the age of 66.

Franz Völker was the possessor of a remarkable dramatic tenor instrument, robust and round, yet capable of great lyricism. A versatile artist, he was equally at home in opera, operetta and lieder. Despite choosing to remain mostly in Germany during his active years, Völker enjoyed a major career and is still remembered as one of the finest Heldentenors to ever grace the stage. The tenor’s lasting reputation is largely due to his recorded legacy. Between 1927 and 1941, he made hundreds of recordings for Polydor, HMV and Telefunken, not to mention numerous live recordings that represent his art through the end of the 1940s. Here, Völker sings "In fernem Land" from Wagner's Lohengrin. This historic recording was made by Telefunken at the 1936 Bayreuth Festival.

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