Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998)
was a German lyric
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
, who was equally at home in the
Lied
In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy, and his American recital debut took place in 1956, at New York's Carnegie Hall. As a Lieder singer, he was a gifted interpreter of
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
, including his song-cycles ''
Die schöne Müllerin
' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding ''Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of ''Lied'' r ...
'' and ''
Die Winterreise'' and the collection of songs ''
Schwanengesang
''Schwanengesang'' (Swan Song), 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously:
# Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab)
# Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab)
# Frühlingssehnsucht (Rellst ...
'', as well as of Robert Schumann, Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. He also appeared frequently as a soloist in
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
's ''Passions'' and
Brahms'
''A German Requiem''.
Early life and education
Hermann Prey was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and grew up in Germany. He was scheduled to be drafted when World War II ended. He studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and won the prize of the
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
contest of the Hessischer Rundfunk in 1952.
Career
Repertoire and notable roles
He began to sing in song recitals and made his operatic debut the next year with the
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden in Bad Salzschlirf (Moruccio in
Eugen d'Albert's
Tiefland). He joined
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) 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 ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...
's resident company, where he sang until 1960. During his last years in Hamburg, he also made frequent guest appearances elsewhere, including the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...
.
He sang frequently at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
between 1960 and 1970 (and as late as the early 1990s), and made his
Bayreuth
Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
debut in 1965 as Wolfram (
Tannhäuser), returning there 1966–67, 1981–84 and 1986. Although he often sang
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, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
early in his career, he later concentrated more on
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
and
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
. Prey was well known for playing Figaro (Mozart and Rossini), but he played other Mozart roles at least equally often, particularly
Papageno
''The Magic Flute'' (, ), Köchel catalogue, K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The ...
and
Guglielmo. He also played, and recorded, the Count in ''
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...
'', and occasionally performed as
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
. He is regarded by some as the best Eisenstein (from
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original literary source for ' was ...
by
Johann Strauss II
Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...
) ever.
He was at home with comic opera Italian-style, displaying scenic intelligence, liveliness and hilarity. His virtuoso agility and great comic acting made him an obvious choice for numerous productions of Mozart's and Rossini's operas in the 1970s. In 1972 he performed as Figaro in
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's television film of
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
's ''
Il Barbiere di Siviglia'' with
Teresa Berganza
Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS (16 March 1933 – 13 May 2022) was a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with roles such as Rossini's Rosina and La Cenerentola, and later Bizet's Carmen, admired for her technical virtuosity, mu ...
as Rosina,
Luigi Alva
Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo (10 April 1927 – 15 May 2025), known professionally as Luigi Alva, was a Peruvian operatic tenor who worked internationally at the major opera houses and festivals. A Mozart and Rossini specialist, Alva achieved f ...
as Almaviva and conductor
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...
. He appeared alongside
Fritz Wunderlich
Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35.
Biography
Wunde ...
and
Hans Hotter in the live televised version of ''Il Barbiere di Siviglia'' in its German translation, ''Der Barbier von Sevilla''. He also portrayed Figaro in 1976 in Ponnelle's film of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's ''
Le nozze di Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...
''.

In 1976, Hermann Prey organised the first
Schubertiade Vorarlberg in
Hohenems
Hohenems (High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Ems'') is a town in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg in the Dornbirn (district), Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a populat ...
,
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...
. A
Schubertiade is an event dedicated to the life and works of the Austrian composer
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
.
On May 8, 1976, the first Schubertiade Vorarlberg evening begins with a recital by Hermann Prey, with
Leonard Hokanson on the piano.
Prey also sang operetta and performed on German television, becoming extremely popular with television audiences.
He shared media-celebrity with Fritz Wunderlich until the latter's early death, often playing Papageno to Wunderlich's Tamino.
Unlike Fischer-Dieskau, Prey limited his Wagner to the soft, high-baritone roles
Wolfram and
Beckmesser. He can be seen on video in the latter role, opposite
Bernd Weikl.
In 1988, he directed a production of ''The Marriage of Figaro'' in Salzburg.
Voice
Prey possessed a clear, polished tone—darker and deeper-sounding than his slightly older contemporary
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...
, but equally refined and equally capable of soaring into the tenor range without the smallest suggestion of vocal effort.
Recordings
He recorded a multi-volume set for Phillips, tracing the history of the ''Lied'' from the
Minnesänger to the twentieth century. In addition, he released numerous recordings of opera and song.
As a teacher and writer
Starting in 1982, he taught at the
Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg
The Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg is one of the larger College or university school of music, universities of music in Germany.
It was founded in 1950 as ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik'' (Public college of music) on the base of t ...
, and he wrote an autobiography which was translated as ''First Night Fever: The Memoirs of Hermann Prey'' ().
Collaborative Pianists
Pianists who collaborated with Hermann Prey in recitals and/or recordings of Lied repertoire include
Karl Engel,
Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Diesk ...
,
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist.
Biography
Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...
,
Leonard Hokanson,
Helmut Deutsch,
Friedrich Gulda
Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.
Biography Early life and career
Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...
,
Jörg Demus
Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...
,
Walter Klien and
Michael Endres. Florian Uhlig played for one of his last recordings of September 1997 at Herbstliche Musiktage
Bad Urach.
Death
He died in
Krailling, Bavaria, of a heart attack on July 22, 1998, at the age of 69.
Family
His son
Florian is also a baritone.
Videography
* ''
The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991'', Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582
References
Fritz Wunderlich's Colleagues: Hermann PreyPrey - Stille meine Liebe: documentary DVD about Hermann Prey
;Notes
External links
by Bruce Duffie, October 12, 1985
On video singing "Liebesbotschaft" by Schubert (YouTube)On video singing "Largo al factotum" (Figaro's entrance aria) from Rossini's THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, in German translation (YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prey, Hermann
1929 births
1998 deaths
Grammy Award winners
Musicians from Berlin
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
German operatic baritones
20th-century German male opera singers