Theodor Wachtel

The twenty-six-year-old made his first attempt on the stage at the municipal theatre of his hometown; shortly before that, on 1 March 1849, he had already attracted the attention of the general public in a concert he had organised himself, in which his fellow countryman Johannes Brahms also took part.

[1] As a beginner, Wachtel first worked at the court theatre in Schwerin for one year, then he turned to Würzburg, where he was encouraged by the lessons of the Kapellmeister Witt and the singer Frieda Beck-Weichselbaum.

Guest performances led him to all major opera houses in Germany, and from 1862 until 1868 he went to London for several months every year, where he sang on the Italian stage of the Coventgardentheater, in 1869 to Paris, in 1871 and 1878 to America.

He first chose his retirement home in Wiesbaden, later on, after several years in Berlin, he moved to Frankfurt, where he died at the age of 70.

[3] His best roles, apart from the postillon, which he played more than 1000 times, were "George Brown", "Sever", "Lyonel", "Vasco de Gama".