Charles Kullman

Charles Kullman (January 13, 1903 – February 8, 1983) was an American tenor born in New Haven, Connecticut, who built a career spanning opera houses in Europe and America. Born Charles Kullmann, he formally changed the spelling of his surname to Kullman on December 8, 1939.

Kullman began singing in church choir at the age of eight. He attended Yale University, where he studied medicine, graduating in 1924. He then shifted his focus to music and enrolled at the Juilliard School on a scholarship, studying with Anna Eugénie Schoen-René. Following three years at Juilliard, he received a second scholarship to study at the American University in Fontainebleau, France, under Thomas Salignac. After returning to the United States, he taught voice at Smith College before joining Vladimir Rosing's touring American Opera Company, where he sang leading roles.

Kullman subsequently returned to Europe, where a professional contact brought him to the attention of conductor Otto Klemperer. This connection led to his engagement at the Kroll Theater in Berlin, where he made his debut on February 24, 1931, as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. He debuted at the Berlin Staatsoper the following year, performing under conductors including Wilhelm Furtwängler, Erich Kleiber, and Leo Blech. In 1934 he made his debuts at both the Vienna State Opera and the Royal Opera House in London. The next year he appeared at the Salzburg Festival as Florestan in Fidelio, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. In 1936, again under Toscanini, he sang Walther in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and that same year he participated in a live recording of Das Lied von der Erde alongside Kerstin Thorborg, conducted by Bruno Walter, at the Vienna Musikverein.

Kullman made his Metropolitan Opera debut on December 19, 1935, in the title role of Faust. Over 25 seasons at the Met, his roles included Don José in Carmen, Pinkerton, Walther, Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Avito in L'amore dei tre re, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. He also undertook weightier roles including Tannhäuser and Parsifal, and later moved into character parts such as Shuisky in Boris Godunov and Goro in Madama Butterfly. A live recording from 1943 captures him as Alfredo in La traviata, opposite Bidu Sayão and Leonard Warren, conducted by Cesare Sordero.

On Broadway, Kullman appeared in 1930, starring in Faust and also appearing in Yolanda of Cyprus. In 1947 he appeared in the film Song of Scheherazade, playing a singing ship's doctor and friend of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, billed under his original spelling of Charles Kullmann.

In his later years, Kullman taught voice at Indiana University from 1956 to 1971 and at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1970 to 1971. He died in his native New Haven, Connecticut, at the age of 80.