Siegfried Lorenz (born 30 August 1945) is a German baritone who performs opera, oratorio and ''

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French sp ...

''. A member of the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, a ...

and later the

Staatsoper Unter den Linden The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

, he made award-winning recordings and appeared as a guest internationally. He has been an academic voice teacher in Berlin and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Career

Born in East Berlin, Lorenz studied voice in his hometown at the

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

from 1964 to 1969, where he was a master student of Alois Orth. After receiving several prizes at international singing competitions, Lorenz was engaged as a lyrical baritone at the

Walter Felsenstein Walter Felsenstein (30 May 1901 – 8 October 1975) was an Austrian theater and opera director. He was one of the most important exponents of textual accuracy, productions in which dramatic and musical values were exquisitely researched and ba ...

in 1969. In 1973, he became the first vocal soloist at the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The f ...

in Leipzig, a position which

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orch ...

created for him. He performed and recorded several cantatas by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

and became known as a ''Lied'' singer. His recordings of songs by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

received several awards. From 1978 to 1992, Lorenz was first lyrical baritone at the

Staatsoper Berlin The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

in Berlin. He appeared successfully as Wolfram in Wagner's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'', as the Count in Mozart's '' Die Hochzeit des Figaro'', as Posa in Verdi's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'', and as Borromeo in Hans Pfitzner's ''

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

'', among others. He recorded Mahler's ''

Kindertotenlieder (''Songs on the Death of Children'') is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert. Text and music The original were a group of 428 poems written by Rückert in 1833� ...

'' with the Gewandhausorchester and Masur, and Schubert song cycles with pianist

Norman Shetler Norman Shetler (born 16 June 1931, Dubuque, Iowa) is a pianist, puppeteer and puppet constructor, and piano professor. Originally from America, he now lives in Austria. Life and career Norman Shetler was born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1931. He planned t ...

. English music critic

Alan Blyth Geoffrey Alan Blyth (27 July 1929 – 14 August 2007) was an English music critic, author, and musicologist who was particularly known for his writings within the field of opera. He was a specialist on singers and singing. Born in London, Blyt ...

reviewed ''

Die Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...

'' for ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'' and noted: "He sings with pleasing, consistently firm tone and with an enviable control of line and dynamics. The range of his voice is not so large as Fischer-Dieskau's, a singer from whom he has learnt so much, but within its smaller compass he can achieve almost the same power and intensity." Recordings of Schubert songs between 1974 and 1987 were combined to form a collection covering 151 of his songs. A reviewer wrote that Lorenz "penetrated Schubert's songs for many years and this eight-CD box is the result of assiduous study and a long-term plan". Lorenz recorded the role of Beckmesser in Wagner's ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditi ...

'', alongside

Ben Heppner Thomas Bernard Heppner (born January 14, 1956) is a Canadian tenor and broadcaster, now retired from singing, who specialized in opera and other classical works for voice. Early life and career Heppner, of Mennonite descent, was born in Mur ...

Cheryl Studer Cheryl Studer (born October 24, 1955) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's foremost opera houses. Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated ...

and

Bernd Weikl Bernd Weikl (born 29 July 1942) is an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in the stage works by Richard Wagner. He also has written books and directed operas. Career Born in Vienna, he moved with his family to ...

, conducted by

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 ...

, Bach's solo cantatas for bass ''

Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (), 56, is a church cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for the 19th Sunday after Trinity. It was first performed in Leipzig on 27 October, 1726. The composition is a solo cantata (german: Solokantate) because, apart from the ...

'' and ''

Ich habe genug Ich may refer to: * Ich, a German pronoun meaning ''I'', also a Middle English form of ''I'' * The ego, one of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * ''Ich'' (album), an album by German rapper Sido * Ic ...

'' with the

Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum (NBCM, New Bach's Collegium Musicum) is a German chamber orchestra, founded in Leipzig, Saxony. It follows the tradition of collegia musica, developed by Johann Sebastian Bach, also in Leipzig. The orchestra is d ...

conducted by

Max Pommer Max Pommer (born 9 February 1936) is a German musicologist and conductor, a director of the Leipziger Universitätschor and the founder and conductor of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. Career Born in Leipzig, Pommer was a student of t ...

, Mahlers's ''

Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ''Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen'' (''Songs of a Wayfarer'') is a song cycle by Gustav Mahler on his own texts. The cycle of four ''lieder'' for medium voice (often performed by women as well as men) was written around 1884–85 in the wake of M ...

'' conducted by

Günther Herbig Günther Herbig (born 30 November 1931) is a German conductor. Born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, Herbig studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar in 1951 (then in East Germany) with Hermann Abendroth. He later was a student o ...

, and his '' Fünf Lieder nach Friedrich Rückert'' with the

Staatskapelle Berlin The Staatskapelle Berlin () is a German orchestra and the resident orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, Unter den Linden. The orchestra is one of the oldest in the world. Until the fall of the German Empire in 1918 the orchestra's name was ''Kö ...

conducted by

Otmar Suitner Otmar Suitner (German pronunciation: �ɔtmaʁ zuˈiːtnɐ 16 May 1922 – 8 January 2010) was an Austrian conductor who spent most of his professional career in East Germany. He was born in Innsbruck and died in Berlin. He was Principal Conduct ...

. Lorenz performed as a guest in Europe, the US and Japan. In 1976, he was awarded the Kunstpreis, and in 1983 the

National Prize of the German Democratic Republic The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (german: Nationalpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was an award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, ...

. In 1979, he was appointed

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male) or Kammersängerin (female), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or ...

of the Staatsoper in Berlin, and in 1982 professor. From 2001 to 2003, he was professor of voice at the

Musikhochschule Hamburg A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

, and from October 2003 at the

Universität der Künste Berlin The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...

Awards

* 1976 Kunstpreis of the GDR,

Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

for three recordings of Schubert's song cycles * 1979 Kammersänger *

(III. Klasse für Kunst und Literatur, 1983)

Recordings

* Gustav Mahler: '' Fünf Lieder nach Friedrich Rückert''. Four songs from ''

Des Knaben Wunderhorn ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder'' (German; "The boy's magic horn: old German songs") is a collection of German folk poems and songs edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and published in Heidelberg, Baden. The book was ...

'' (1984)

References

External links

*
Siegfried Lorenz / Biography by Erik Eriksson
AllMusic

Bach Cantatas Website
Siegfried Lorenz / Interview, 10/2010: Siegfried Lorenz, Der Staat war nun einmal da!
Der neue Merker, October 2010
Lorenz Siegfried / baritono
Operissimo
Bariton Siegfried Lorenz wordt 70 jaar
operanederland.nl, 30 August 2015

Der Spiegel 21 October 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenz, Siegfried German operatic baritones 1945 births Living people Musicians from Berlin People from East Berlin