Hans Wolf, 1912-2005: Conductor devoted his life to opera

Wolf, who died Friday at age 92 after a massive heart attack, held several positions with Seattle Opera from 1969 until his retirement in 1983, including associate conductor and chorus master. He also was a co-founder of Tacoma Opera, acting as its conductor and artistic director.

"Hans was one of the warmest, most charming people I have ever known," said Speight Jenkins, general director of Seattle Opera. "Curiously, he would never allow anyone to celebrate his age. No 90th birthday celebration. He wanted to keep working -- enjoying music, finding new singers -- and he succeeded in his goal until the very end."

Born and reared in Hamburg, Germany, Wolf studied music in Vienna in the 1930s before fleeing the Nazis with his family. As a resident of the United States, he served with the U.S. Army in World War II, when he began to conduct. After the war, he returned to the United States, worked in the record business and conducted opera in Los Angeles.

At Seattle Opera, Wolf was particularly known for his opera previews. He was director of the company's community outreach program and led performances at such places as Pacific Lutheran University's Summer Opera in Tacoma, Seattle Junior Programs at Center Playhouse and Renton Community Opera.

His other conducting credits include Riverside Opera Association in California, as well as European orchestras, including the Vienna Symphony, Mozarteum Orchestra, and ensembles in Austria and Germany.

En route to his work at Seattle Opera, he was a regular at the Caffe Vita coffeehouse on Fifth Avenue in lower Queen Anne, joining friends there daily over the past several years for conversations -- often in German -- about music or politics or life in general. Baristas there clipped and posted a notice of his death.

For the past decade, Wolf worked on what he termed "Neglected Masterpieces of Operetta" that he presented through Community Outreach Productions, of which he was artistic director.

For his work with Community Outreach, as well as a lifetime dedication to opera on two continents, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels declared March 30, 2003, Hans Wolf Day. It cited Wolf as "a well-loved ambassador for the arts throughout the region." In 1975, he received the Seattle Opera Guild's award for "dedication and loyalty to Seattle Opera."

At the time of his death, he was preparing Offenbach's "La Perichole." A concert performance of the operetta Nov. 12 at Town Hall will serve as a memorial to Wolf.

He is survived by a sister, Elsbeth Pfeiffer of Seattle, two nephews and their children.

P-I music critic R.M. Campbell can be reached at 206-448-8396 or rmcampbell@seattlepi.com.

Add P-I classical music headlines to