Franz Betz

He made his debut in 1856 at the Court Theater of Hanover as The Herald in Wagner's Lohengrin, after which he sang as a guest performer in various other German opera houses.

His 1859 success at the Berlin State Opera in the role of Don Carlo in Verdi's Ernani, led to a permanent contract with the company.

He became one of Wagner's most trusted singers,[1] and sang the role of Hans Sachs in the world premiere of his Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (National Theatre Munich, 1868).

He also sang Wotan in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre and The Wanderer in Siegfried for the first complete performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen (Bayreuth Festspielhaus, 1876).

[2] From 1882 to 1890, he served as the first president of the Genossenschaft Deutscher Bühnen-Angehöriger (the German trade union for stage artists, technicians and administrative staff).