Karl Formes

Who was Karl Formes?

Karl Johann Franz Formes, also called Charles John Formes, was a German bass opera and oratorio singer who had a long international career especially in Germany, London and New York. At one time extremely famous and in the forefront of his profession, several roles were composed for his voice, most notably that of Plunkett in Flotow's opera Martha.

Formes's own Memoirs, first published in 1888, may not be entirely trustworthy. Charles Santley recorded that Formes was a great teller of stories, 'much after the style of Baron Münchhausen'.