Johann Michael Wächter

Who was Johann Michael Wächter?

Johann Michael Wächter was an Austrian bass-baritone most famous for appearing in the operas of Richard Wagner.

Born in Rappersdorf in Austria, Wächter sang in various church choirs in Vienna, making his stage début in 1819 at Graz as Don Giovanni in Mozart's Don Giovanni. He also appeared at Bratislava, Vienna and Berlin. In 1827 he joined the Dresden Hofoper, where he remained for the rest of his career. Here his roles included Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, and he sang in three Wagner premières, playing Orsini in Rienzi in 1842, The Dutchman in The Flying Dutchman in 1843, and Biterolf in Tannhäuser in 1845.

Hector Berlioz, who heard The Flying Dutchman in Dresden, considered Wächter's baritone ‘...one of the finest I have ever heard, and he uses it like a consummate singer. It is of that rich and vibrant timbre that has such a wonderful power of expression, provided that the artist sings with soul and feeling, which Wächter does to a high degree’.

Wächter, an old friend of Wagner's, was not equal to the demanding role of the Dutchman. Wagner later wrote: