Josef Metternich (2 June 1915, Cologne – 21 February 2005, Feldafing ) was a German operatic baritone . Metternich also appeared at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in La forza del destino , in 1953. He joined the Munich State Opera in 1954, where he created the role of Johannes Kepler in Hindemith 's Die Harmonie der Welt (1957). Metternich was a powerful singer and charismatic performer. He retired in 1971 after performing for more than three decades.