Willi Brokmeier

Willi Brokmeier (born 8 April 1928) is a German operatic lyric tenor. He focused on operetta roles, with an expressive voice and great acting talent, also appearing in several operetta films. He participated in world premieres and revivals, and performed at major European opera houses. One of his signature roles was Pedrillo in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Born in Bochum, Brokmeier received his training as a lyric and buffo tenor at the Dortmund Conservatory. He took up his first engagement in 1953 at the Staatstheater Mainz. In 1955, he moved to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, where he remained until 1961. This was followed by an engagement in Munich at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, when Arno Assmann was artistic director. When Assmann went to the Cologne Opera in 1964, Brokmeier followed him. In 1967, he returned to Munich and became a member of the Bavarian State Opera.

Important roles in Brokmeier's career included David in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In the world premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten in 1965, he appeared as the Count. In 1966, he performed in the first performance of Haydn's Le pescatrici. He appeared in the German premiere of Richard Rodney Bennett's The Mines of Sulphur (Ballade im Moor) in 1967. In 1969, he appeared in the world premiere of Ján Cikker's Das Spiel von Liebe und Tod . In 1976, he participated in Josef Tal's Die Versuchung (The Temptation).