Ernst Kozub

Ernst Kozub (January 24, 1924 – December 27, 1971) was a German tenor and opera singer. Kozub was born in Duisburg, Germany. Though his early death prevented him from fully realising his promise, he stands out as one of the notable heldentenor voices of the 1960s. He is best known for his Wagnerian roles, including Erik in Der fliegende Holländer (which he recorded with Theo Adam and Anja Silja in 1968). Because of the quality of his voice, John Culshaw cast him as Siegfried in the Decca recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen, but his ailing health (kept as a secret by him at that time), which prevented him mastering the role within the short period of time given him by Decca led to his replacement at the last minute by Wolfgang Windgassen. Actually when checking the facts, the allegation that his illness affected him at the Siegfried sessions doen't really appear correct. He lived for ten years after those sessions and appeared all over Europe inlcuding singing for Solti in London in 1965 and making a film of Der Freischutz. In Ring Resounding Culshaw states that he came to the Siegfried sessions in magnificent voice but totally unprepared. Solti and Hans Hotter spent nights with him trying to teach him the part but Hotter started running out of voice and Decca brass saw that too much money was being wasted so Decca went hat in hand to Wolfgang Windgassen. Its a shame but apparently Kozub missed the opportunity of a lifetime by not studying the part for a recorodng that could have made him a superstar Kozub died in 1971 in Bad Soden, having only performed his last Tannhäuser in Italy three weeks before his death.