Martin Lattke (born 29 May 1981) is a German tenor, performing as a soloist and former member of the

ensemble amarcord amarcord is a German male classical vocal ensemble based in Leipzig, founded in 1992 by five former members of the Thomanerchor. They primarily perform Medieval music, Renaissance music as well as collaborating with contemporary composers. U ...

Career

Born in

Pirna Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as ...

, Martin Lattke was seven years old when he received his first singing training. He was a member of the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding sc ...

as a boy soprano for nine years beginning in 1990. In 1999 he co-founded the Leipzig vocal quintet ''Calmus'', with which he did concert tours in Europe and the USA. He won awards at international competitions. In 2002, he was awarded a scholarship of the German Music Competition. Since 2006 he is a member of the

. Lattke received singing lessons from

Gotthold Schwarz Gotthold Schwarz (born 2 May 1952 in Zwickau) is a German Bass-baritone and conductor. Based in Leipzig, he started as a member of the Thomanerchor and has conducted the Gewandhausorchester. Between 2016 and 2021, he was the 17th Thomaskantor ...

in Leipzig, completed studies in industrial engineering in 2003, and studied then singing at the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssoh ...

with Hans-Joachim Beyer. In 2007 he attended a master class with

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducte ...

and received artistic impulses for singing the part of the Evangelist in Bach's

Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...

. Lattke's repertoire includes songs and ensemble literature from the Renaissance to contemporary, oratorios, preferably of the works of Bach, and opera. His debut as the Evangelist in Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'' in 2008 was at the

Teatro La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice be ...

, conducted by

Riccardo Chailly Riccardo Chailly (, ; born 20 February 1953) is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, since 2016, and music director of La Scala, since 2017. Prior to this, he held chief conducting position ...

. He performed at the

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (English: Florence Musical May) is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late April into June annual ...

, with the Lebanese National Orchestra in Beirut, and performed regularly Bach's Passions with the Thomanerchor, directed by

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor ...

Georg Christoph Biller Georg Christoph Biller (20 September 1955 – 27 January 2022) was a German choral conductor. He conducted the Thomanerchor as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach from 1992 to 2015. He was also a baritone, an academic teacher ...

in the

Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...

. During his singing career he toured Europe, the U.S., Australia, Canada, Russia, Korea, Africa, Central America and the Middle East.

Recordings

Lattke performed in 2009 with the ensemble amarcord in a concert and live recording of Bach's lost '' St Mark Passion''. The reconstruction by

Diethard Hellmann Diethard Hellmann (28 December 1928 – 14 October 1999) was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich. Professional career Born in Grimma, Dietmann Hellmann was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied church music in Leipzig ...

, revised by

Andreas Glöckner Andreas Glöckner (born 1950 in Sondershausen) is a German musicologist, a Bach scholar who has served as the dramaturge of the Bachfest Leipzig. Career Glöckner studied musicology at the University of Leipzig. He worked at the Bach Archive Le ...

, was performed in the

Frauenkirche Dresden The Dresden Frauenkirche (german: Dresdner Frauenkirche, , ''Church of Our Lady'') is a Lutheran church in Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony. Destroyed during the Allied firebombing of Dresden towards the end of World War II, ...

, with the Kölner Akademie conducted by

Michael Alexander Willens Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

. Lattke appeared as the Evangelist in a 2010 recording of Bach's ''Christmas Oratorio'' for Decca with the

Gewandhausorchester The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, conducted by Chailly, and in a 2012 recording of Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' conducted by Biller on DVD. A reviewer noted: "Martin Lattke as the Evangelist delivers his recitatives with plenty of engaging interest and without histrionics." Lattke was in 2010 with the ensemble amarcord a winner of the

ECHO Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize. Th ...

for the album "Restless Love", and in 2012 again for the album "Das Lieben bringt groß Freud".

References

External links

Martin Lattke
website * *

Rosenthal Management {{DEFAULTSORT:Lattke, Martin German operatic tenors Bach singers 1981 births Living people People from Pirna