Johannes Sembach

as Walter "Die Meistersanger Nurenburg" Wagner

Johannes Sembach
(Johannes Semfke) 1881 – 1944
German tenor.

Studied at the Stern Conservatory in 1899 as a baritone,In 1904 he auditioned for Gustav Mahler, then Director of the Vienna Opera, and was offered a contract Leaving the name "Semfke" and baritone roles behind, Sembach joined the Vienna Opera as a tenor and made his debut as Moser in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg on November 13, 1904.In 1907 he joined the Dresden Opera, making his debut as Don José in Carmen on August 18. In Dresden, S secured a leave from his Dresden post in 1911 to study with legendary tenor Jean de Reszke in Paris, staying with the tenor for a year and a half. He reemerged as a performer in 1913, singing in London, Berlin, Munich, and Paris. He joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 1914