Gottlob Frick

Some of his most celebrated roles were Wagnerian villains such as Hunding and Hagen in Der Ring des Nibelungen, but others were noble characters like Sarastro in The Magic Flute or Gurnemanz in Parsifal or comic figures such as Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail or Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

[5] He officially retired from the operatic stage in 1970, but made occasional appearances after that, including what the critic John Steane called "his triumphant return to Covent Garden" in 1971 as Gurnemanz in Parsifal.

Patmore adds that Frick’s "great musicianship, humanity and wit" made him an ideal interpreter of the major parts in the bass repertoire.

[3] Although Frick was known for his portrayal of Wagnerian villains such as Hunding and Hagen in the Ring, he also played noble characters including Sarastro in The Magic Flute and Gurnemanz in Parsifal or comic figures such as Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail or Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Whether benevolently enthusiastic as the Landgrave, or soft and intimate in Pogner's music with Eva, or voicing the dark menace of Hagen, he is king of his kind".

He also recorded the Hermit (in Weber's Der Freischütz) for Joseph Keilberth and Kaspar for Lovro von Matačić, The Peasant (in Carl Orff's Die Kluge) for both Wolfgang Sawallisch and Kurt Eichhorn, Kecal (in The Bartered Bride), The Commendatore for Giulini, Pogner and King Henry for Rudolf Kempe, King Marke, Daland and the Landgrave for Franz Konwitschny, and Hunding, Hagen and Gurnemanz for Georg Solti.