Günter Reich (22 November 1921 – 15 January 1989), also spelled Günther Reich and Gunther Reich, was an Israeli

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

of German birth. He was a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart for more than 20 years and is known for interpreting the works of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

in collaboration with Michael Gielen and

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

Career

Reich was born in Liegnitz (then part of Germany) and emigrated with his family to Mandatory Palestine in 1934. In 1958 he entered the Deutsche Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where he was a student of Richard Sengeleitner. He made his professional opera debut at the Stadttheater Gelsenkirchen as Iago in

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

''. From 1968 until his death in 1989 he was a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart. He also worked extensively as a guest artist with opera companies internationally, making appearances with such organizations as the Bavarian State Opera, De Nederlandse Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Edinburgh Festival, the Oper Frankfurt, the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...

, the Leipzig Opera, the Liceu, the Metropolitan Opera, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the

Royal Opera, London The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...

, the Salzburg Festival, the

Stadttheater Aachen Theater Aachen is a theatre in Aachen, Germany. It is the principal venue in that city for operas, musical theatre and plays. It is the home of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra. The original project was by Johann Peter Cremer, later altered by Kar ...

, the Teatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro), the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, the Teatro Real, and the Zurich Opera.

Performances and recordings

In 1961 he sang in Vienna in the premiere of Schoenberg's '' Die Jakobsleiter'', stepping in for Ivan Rebroff. In 1963 he participated in the premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's '' Vokal-Sinfonie Die Soldaten''. He recorded the part of Soroker in Boris Blacher's ''200,000 Taler'' with conductor Heinrich Hollreiser, with Martha Mödl and Ernst Haefliger. In 1970 he recorded Bach's

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

'' Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21'', with Helmuth Rilling and the Gächinger Kantorei. In 1973 he recorded the part of Moses in Schoenberg's '' Moses und Aron'', conducted by Michael Gielen, and in 1975 with

conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The Gielen recording was the soundtrack for the film '' Moses und Aron'' of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet. In 1974 he performed Bruckner's Mass No. 3 and Te Deum with

Kari Løvaas Kari Løvaas (born 13 May 1939) is a Norwegian operatic soprano who made an international career outside Scandinavia, mostly using the German spelling of her name, Kari Lövaas. She has performed at international festivals such as the Salzburg Fes ...

, Hildegard Rütgers and Kurt Huber in the Münster of the Zwiefalten Abbey. He recorded the part of the narrator in Schoenberg's '' Gurre-Lieder'' with

. In 1976 he was the narrator in a recording of Schoenberg's '' A Survivor from Warsaw'', described as disturbingly dramatic, again with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Boulez. In 1979 he appeared as the duke in the production of Schreker's '' Die Gezeichneten'' at the Oper Frankfurt, conducted by Gielen, with William Cochran and

June Card June Card (born April 10, 1937) is an American soprano and stage director who had an active career in operas and concerts from 1959 through today. She began her career as a chorus girl on Broadway before moving into opera. She established herse ...

. In 1980 he sang the title role in Ferruccio Busoni's '' Doktor Faust'', staged by

Hans Neuenfels Hans Neuenfels (; 31 May 1941 – 6 February 2022) was a German writer, poet, film producer, librettist, theatre director, opera director and theatre manager. As a director, he first focused on drama, staged at prominent houses such as the Vie ...

, with Cochran as Mephistopheles and June Card as the Duchess of Parma. Reich died in Heidelberg in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reich, Gunter 1921 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Israeli male opera singers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine Jewish opera singers Israeli operatic baritones People from Legnica People from the Province of Lower Silesia