Josef Witt

Kammersänger Josef Witt (17 May 1901 - 3 January 1994) was a tenor who was a regular performer at the Vienna State Opera before WW II.His name is sometimes spelt Joseph Witt. In 1923 Witt created the role of Li in Hans Gál's opera, Die heilige Ente, in Düsseldorf.He performed the role of Palestrina in the production of Pfitzner’s opera Palestrina at the State Opera in 1937. He conducted opera classes at the Akadamie fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna until his death in 1990.Singers like Norman Bailey, Walter Berry and Mimi Coertse, who went on to have important opera careers in Austria and Germany, were among his students.