A long-term member of the Berlin Court Opera, he performed leading roles in Europe, such as Verdi's Rigoletto and Wagner's Dutchman in Der fliegende Holländer.

Born in Garitz [de],[1] now part of Bad Kissingen, Hoffmann was the fifth child of Wolfgang Melchior Hoffmann (died 1880), a proprietor of a material goods shop from Ochsenfurt and part-time trombonist in the Kurorchester Bad Kissingen [de], and Margarethe Hoffmann, née Guck, a talented alto singer in the church choir.

From 1895, he made guest performances in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, including as Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Berlin Court Opera and soon afterwards as Lysiart in Weber's Euryanthe.

[1] He took part in several world premieres there, including Chabrier's Briséïs (in German) in 1899, Lortzing's Regina the same year, d'Albert's Kain [de] in 1900, Leoncavallo's Der Roland von Berlin in 1904, and Humperdinck's Die Heirat wider Willen [de] in 1905.

He wanted to give up singing after the end of his engagement in Berlin scheduled for 1910 but found new energy through an extended stay at Schloss Hornegg on Neckar.

In 1995, a CD with Hoffmann's role as mayor in Leoncavallo's Der Roland von Berlin was published by Diji-Rom, New York.