Benno Kusche (1916-2010) was a German baritone, especially associated with opera in Munich and with German repertory after the Second World War. He was admired in both comic and character roles.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears in Eugen Jochum’s 1949 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, part of a strong Munich Wagner tradition.

Kusche’s artistry depended on verbal point, stage instinct and musical reliability. Character singers in Wagner and Mozart may not always take the curtain-call thunder, but they make the theatre breathe.

His catalogue presence is modest but secure. Kusche represents the disciplined ensemble craft that keeps a great operatic performance from becoming only a procession of stars.