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93-456: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau ( German: [ˌdiːtʁɪç ˌfɪʃɐ ˈdiːskaʊ̯] ; 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 Lieder, particularly " Winterreise " of which his recordings with accompanists Gerald Moore and Jörg Demus are still critically acclaimed half

186-564: A Dramatic Baritone with greater ease in the upper tessitura (Verdi Baritone roles center approximately a minor third higher). Because the Verdi Baritone is sometimes seen as a subset of the Dramatic Baritone, some singers perform roles from both sets of repertoire. Similarly, the lower tessitura of these roles allows them frequently to be sung by bass-baritones. Dramatic baritone roles in opera: The baryton-noble baritone

279-650: A Wagner specialist, sang John when the opera reached the Met in 1907). Then, in 1925, Germany's Leo Schützendorf created the title baritone role in Alban Berg 's harrowing Wozzeck . In a separate development, the French composer Claude Debussy 's post-Wagnerian masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande featured not one but two lead baritones at its 1902 premiere. These two baritones, Jean Périer and Hector Dufranne , possessed contrasting voices. (Dufranne – sometimes classed as

372-897: A Wayfarer) under Wilhelm Furtwängler . That year, he also made his British debut, at the Royal Albert Hall in London during the Festival of Britain . He appeared in Frederick Delius 's A Mass of Life , conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham . He made regular opera appearances at the Bayreuth Festival between 1954 and 1961 and at the Salzburg Festival from 1956 until the early 1970s. As an opera singer, Fischer-Dieskau performed mainly in Berlin and at

465-512: A bass-baritone – had a darker, more powerful instrument than did Périer, who was a true baryton-Martin.) Characteristic of the Wagnerian baritones of the 20th century was a general progression of individual singers from higher-lying baritone parts to lower-pitched ones. This was the case with Germany's Hans Hotter . Hotter made his debut in 1929. As a young singer he appeared in Verdi and created

558-508: A career lasting from 1935 to 1966, the Bolshoi 's Pavel Lisitsian . Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sergei Leiferkus are two Russian baritones of the modern era who appear regularly in the West. Like Lisitsian, they sing Verdi and the works of their native composers, including Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades . In the realm of French song, the bass-baritone José van Dam and

651-488: A century after their release. Recording an array of repertoire (spanning centuries) as musicologist Alan Blyth asserted, "No singer in our time, or probably any other has managed the range and versatility of repertory achieved by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Opera, Lieder and oratorio in German, Italian or English came alike to him, yet he brought to each a precision and individuality that bespoke his perceptive insights into

744-684: A complete Die schöne Müllerin , and they performed the work on 31 January 1952 at the Kingsway Hall , London, in the Mysore Concerts of the Philharmonia Concert Society. They gave recitals together until Moore retired from public performance in 1967. They continued, however, to record together until 1972, in which year they completed their massive project of recording all of the Schubert lieder appropriate for

837-418: A distinguished, brighter-voiced Wagnerian rival during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s in the person of Thomas Stewart of America. Other notable post-War Wagnerian baritones have been Canada's George London , Germany's Hermann Uhde and, more recently, America's James Morris . Among the late-20th-century baritones noted throughout the opera world for their Verdi performances was Vladimir Chernov , who emerged from

930-684: A highly successful first concert at Berlin's Titania-Palast . From early in his career he collaborated with famous lyric sopranos Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Irmgard Seefried , and the recording producer Walter Legge , issuing instantly successful albums of Lieder by Schubert and Hugo Wolf . In the autumn of 1948, Fischer-Dieskau was engaged as principal lyric baritone at the Städtische Oper Berlin (Municipal Opera, West Berlin ), making his debut as Posa in Verdi 's Don Carlos under Ferenc Fricsay . This company, known after 1961 as

1023-563: A lyric baritone and with a darker quality. Its common range is from the G half an octave below low C to the G above middle C (G 2 to G 4 ). The dramatic baritone category corresponds roughly to the Heldenbariton in the German Fach system except that some Verdi baritone roles are not included. The primo passaggio and secondo passaggio of both the Verdi and dramatic baritone are at B ♭ and E ♭ respectively, hence

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1116-500: A miracle ("cela tenait du miracle"): "As soon as he opened his mouth, they believed every word he sang. Not a single word, not an intention, not a nuance did he pass over in his diction" ("dès qu'il ouvrait la bouche, on y croyait. Pas un mot, pas une intention, pas une nuance n'échappait à sa diction"). In an obituary in The Guardian , pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim , Fischer-Dieskau's longtime accompanist in lieder, called

1209-507: A monument to it." As 'the world's greatest Lieder singer' (Time magazine), he regularly sold out concert halls all over the world until his retirement at the end of 1992. The precisely articulated accuracy of his performances, in which text and music were presented as equal partners, established standards that endure today. The current widespread interest in German Romantic art song is mainly due to his efforts. Perhaps most admired as

1302-460: A passion by Heinrich Schütz in 1961. Fischer-Dieskau smoked during a large part of his career. In an interview with B.Z.-News aus Berlin in 2002 he said, "I quit smoking 20 years ago. I smoked for 35 years, and then stopped in a single day." On 18 May 2012, Fischer-Dieskau died in his sleep at his home in Berg, Upper Bavaria , 10 days before his 87th birthday. Fischer-Dieskau recorded mainly for

1395-434: A singer of Schubert Lieder, Fischer-Dieskau had, according to critic Joachim Kaiser , only one really serious competitor – himself, as over the decades he set new standards, explored new territories and expressed unanticipated feelings and emotions. Few artists achieve the level of recognition, admiration and influence of Fischer-Dieskau, and even fewer live to see that influence realised during their own lifetime. Ushering in

1488-495: A small but precious legacy of benchmark Handel recordings during the 1920s and 1930s. (Dawson, incidentally, acquired his outstanding Handelian technique from Sir Charles Santley.) Yet another Australian baritone of distinction between the wars was Harold Williams , who was based in the United Kingdom. Important British-born baritones of the 1930s and 1940s were Dennis Noble , who sang Italian and English operatic roles, and

1581-428: A subset of the Dramatic Baritone. Its common range is from the G below low C to the B ♭ above middle C (G 2 to B ♭ 4 ). A Verdi baritone refers to a voice capable of singing consistently and with ease in the highest part of the baritone range. It will generally have a lot of squillo . Verdi baritone roles in opera: The dramatic baritone is a voice that is richer, fuller, and sometimes harsher than

1674-409: A tenor. Baryton-Martin roles in opera: The lyric baritone is a sweeter, milder sounding baritone voice, lacking in harshness; lighter and perhaps mellower than the dramatic baritone with a higher tessitura . Its common range is from the A below C 3 to the G above middle C (A 2 to G 4 ). It is typically assigned to comic roles. Lyric baritone roles in opera: The Kavalierbariton baritone

1767-548: A younger generation include Olaf Bär , Matthias Goerne , Wolfgang Holzmair and Johannes Sterkel (which are also performing or have performed regularly in opera), Thomas Quasthoff , Stephan Genz  [ de ] and Christian Gerhaher . Well-known non-Germanic baritones of recent times have included the Italians Giorgio Zancanaro and Leo Nucci , the Frenchman François le Roux ,

1860-714: Is French for "noble baritone" and describes a part that requires a noble bearing, smooth vocalisation and forceful declamation, all in perfect balance. This category originated in the Paris Opera , but it greatly influenced Verdi (Don Carlo in Ernani and La forza del destino ; Count Luna in Il trovatore ; Simon Boccanegra ) and Wagner as well ( Wotan ; Amfortas ). Similar to the Kavalierbariton. Baryton-noble roles in opera are: The bass-baritone range extends from

1953-422: Is a metallic voice that can sing both lyric and dramatic phrases, a manly, noble baritonal color. Its common range is from the A below low C to the G above middle C (A 2 to G 4 ). Not quite as powerful as the Verdi baritone who is expected to have a powerful appearance on stage, perhaps muscular or physically large. Kavalierbariton roles in opera: The Verdi baritone is a more specialized voice category and

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2046-404: Is often called the first true baritone role. However, Donizetti and Verdi in their vocal writing went on to emphasize the top fifth of the baritone voice, rather than its lower notes—thus generating a more brilliant sound. Further pathways opened up when the musically complex and physically demanding operas of Richard Wagner began to enter the mainstream repertory of the world's opera houses during

2139-965: Is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's ) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet . Since 2004, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, like the Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( Berlin State Opera ), the Komische Oper Berlin , the Berlin State Ballet, and the Bühnenservice Berlin (Stage and Costume Design), has been a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation. The company's history goes back to

2232-506: The 65th Infantry Division south of Bologna in the winter of 1944–45 and entertained his comrades at soldiers' evenings behind the lines. He was captured in Italy in 1945 and spent two years as an American prisoner of war . During that time, he sang Lieder in POW camps to homesick German soldiers. He had a physically and intellectually impaired brother, Martin, who was sent to an institution by

2325-1804: The Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera , at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden in London, at the Hamburg State Opera , in Japan, and at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh , during the Edinburgh Festival . His first tour in the United States took place in 1955, when he was 29, with his concert debut in Cincinnati on 15 April ( J. S. Bach 's cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen ) (BWV 56) and 16 April ( Ein Deutsches Requiem ). His American Lieder debut, singing Franz Schubert songs, took place in Saint Paul, Minnesota , on 19 April. His New York City debut occurred on 2 May at The Town Hall , where he sang Schubert's song cycle Winterreise without an interval. Both American recitals were accompanied by Gerald Moore . In 1951, Fischer-Dieskau made his first of many recordings of Lieder with Gerald Moore at Abbey Road Studios in London, including

2418-534: The Bayreuth Festival in the 1890s; Giuseppe Campanari ; Antonio Magini-Coletti ; Mario Ancona (chosen to be the first Silvio in Pagliacci ); and Antonio Scotti , who came to the Met from Europe in 1899 and remained on the roster of singers until 1933. Antonio Pini-Corsi was the standout Italian buffo baritone in the period between about 1880 and World War I , reveling in comic opera roles by Rossini, Donizetti and Paer , among others. In 1893, he created

2511-495: The Cherubini Quartet ). Irmgard died in 1963 of complications following childbirth. Afterwards, Fischer-Dieskau was married to the actress Ruth Leuwerik , from 1965 to 1967, and Kristina Pugell, from 1968 to 1975. In 1977 he married the soprano Júlia Várady . His older brother Klaus Fischer-Dieskau was a notable Berlin choral director who conducted for Fischer-Dieskau several times, including in his only recording of

2604-580: The Deutsche Oper , would remain his artistic home until his retirement from the operatic stage, in 1978. Subsequently, Fischer-Dieskau made guest appearances at the opera houses in Vienna and Munich . After 1949 he made concert tours in the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Italy. In 1951, he made his Salzburg Festival concert debut with Mahler 's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of

2697-521: The Deutsches Opernhaus built by the then independent city of Charlottenburg—the "richest town of Prussia " —according to plans designed by Heinrich Seeling from 1911. It opened on 7 November 1912 with a performance of Beethoven 's Fidelio , conducted by Ignatz Waghalter . In 1925, after the incorporation of Charlottenburg by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act , the name of the resident building

2790-481: The EMI , Deutsche Grammophon , and Orfeo labels Baritone The first use of the term "baritone" emerged as baritonans , late in the 15th century, usually in French sacred polyphonic music. At this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices (including the bass), but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the average male choral voice. Baritones took roughly

2883-663: The Nazi regime and starved to death . His family home was also destroyed during the war. In 1947, Fischer-Dieskau returned to Germany, where he launched his professional career as a singer in Badenweiler , singing in Brahms 's Ein Deutsches Requiem without any rehearsal. (He was a last-minute substitute for an indisposed singer.) He gave his first Lieder recital in Leipzig in the autumn of 1947 and followed it soon afterwards with

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2976-568: The fifth above the bass root) and to complete a chord. On the other hand, the baritone will occasionally find himself harmonizing above the melody, which calls for a tenor-like quality. Because the baritone fills the chord, the part is often not very melodic. St%C3%A4dtische Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building

3069-541: The gramophone was invented early enough to capture on disc the voices of the top Italian Verdi and Donizetti baritones of the last two decades of the 19th century, whose operatic performances were characterized by considerable re-creative freedom and a high degree of technical finish. They included Mattia Battistini (known as the "King of Baritones"), Giuseppe Kaschmann (born Josip Kašman ) who, atypically, sang Wagner's Telramund and Amfortas not in Italian but in German, at

3162-628: The 1975 premiere and 1993 recording of Gottfried von Einem 's cantata An die Nachgeborenen , written in 1973 as a commission of the UN, both with Julia Hamari and the Wiener Symphoniker conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini . Beyond his recordings of Lieder and the German opera repertoire, Fischer-Dieskau also recorded performances in the Italian operatic field. His recordings of Verdi's Rigoletto (alongside Renata Scotto and Carlo Bergonzi ) and Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlos , are probably

3255-567: The 19th century although, generally speaking, his operas were not revered to the same extent that they are today by music critics and audiences. Back then, baritones rather than high basses normally sang Don Giovanni – arguably Mozart's greatest male operatic creation. Famous Dons of the late 19th and early 20th centuries included Scotti and Maurel, as well as Portugal's Francisco D'Andrade and Sweden's John Forsell . The verismo baritone, Verdi baritone, and other subtypes are mentioned below, though not necessarily in 19th-century context. The dawn of

3348-940: The 20th century opened up more opportunities for baritones than ever before as a taste for strenuously exciting vocalism and lurid, "slice-of-life" operatic plots took hold in Italy and spread elsewhere. The most prominent verismo baritones included such major singers in Europe and America as the polished Giuseppe De Luca (the first Sharpless in Madama Butterfly ), Mario Sammarco (the first Gerard in Andrea Chénier ), Eugenio Giraldoni (the first Scarpia in Tosca ), Pasquale Amato (the first Rance in La fanciulla del West ), Riccardo Stracciari (noted for his richly attractive timbre ) and Domenico Viglione Borghese , whose voice

3441-575: The American-born but also Paris-based baritone of the 1920s, and 1930s Arthur Endreze . Also to be found singing Verdi roles at the Met, Covent Garden and the Vienna Opera during the late 1930s and the 1940s was the big-voiced Hungarian baritone, Sandor (Alexander) Sved . The leading Verdi baritones of the 1970s and 1980s were probably Italy's Renato Bruson and Piero Cappuccilli , America's Sherrill Milnes , Sweden's Ingvar Wixell and

3534-577: The Canadians Gerald Finley and James Westman and the versatile American Thomas Hampson , his compatriot Nathan Gunn and the Englishman Simon Keenlyside . The vocal range of the baritone lies between the bass and the tenor voice types . The baritone vocal range is usually between the second G below middle C (G 2 ) and the G above middle C (G 4 ). Composers typically write music for this voice in

3627-684: The Commandant in Richard Strauss's Friedenstag and Olivier in Capriccio . By the 1950s, however, he was being hailed as the top Wagnerian bass-baritone in the world. His Wotan was especially praised by critics for its musicianship. Other major Wagnerian baritones have included Hotter's predecessors Leopold Demuth , Anton van Rooy, Hermann Weil , Clarence Whitehill , Friedrich Schorr , Rudolf Bockelmann and Hans-Hermann Nissen . Demuth, van Rooy, Weil and Whitehill were at their peak in

3720-413: The F below low C to the F or F ♯ above middle C (F 2 to F 4 or F ♯ 4 ). Bass-baritones are typically divided into two separate categories: lyric bass-baritone and dramatic bass-baritone. Lyric bass-baritone roles in opera include: Dramatic bass-baritone roles in opera include: All of Gilbert and Sullivan 's Savoy operas have at least one lead baritone character (frequently

3813-413: The London production in 1864 so that the leading baritone would have an aria. A couple of primitive cylinder recordings dating from about 1900 have been attributed by collectors to the dominant French baritone of the 1860s and 1870s, Jean-Baptiste Faure (1830–1914), the creator of Posa in Verdi's original French-language version of Don Carlos . It is doubtful, however, that Faure (who retired in 1886) made

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3906-476: The Mozartian Roy Henderson . Both appeared often at Covent Garden. Prior to World War II, Germany's Heinrich Schlusnus, Gerhard Hüsch and Herbert Janssen were celebrated for their beautifully sung lieder recitals as well as for their mellifluous operatic performances in Verdi, Mozart, and Wagner respectively. After the war's conclusion, Hermann Prey and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau appeared on

3999-879: The Priest of Dagon in Samson and Delilah , Escamillo in Carmen , Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles , Lescaut in Manon , Athanael in Thaïs and Herod in Hérodiade . Russian composers included substantial baritone parts in their operas. Witness the title roles in Peter Tchaikovsky 's Eugene Onegin (which received its first production in 1879) and Alexander Borodin 's Prince Igor (1890). Mozart continued to be sung throughout

4092-486: The Romanian baritone Nicolae Herlea . At the same time, Britain's Sir Thomas Allen was considered to be the most versatile baritone of his generation in regards to repertoire, which ranged from Mozart to Verdi and lighter Wagner roles, through French and Russian opera, to modern English music. Another British baritone, Norman Bailey , established himself internationally as a memorable Wotan and Hans Sachs. However, he had

4185-681: The Spanish-speaking countries, the United States and the United Kingdom, and in Germany, where there was a major Verdi revival in Berlin between the wars. Outside the field of Italian opera, an important addition to the Austro-German repertory occurred in 1905. This was the premiere of Richard Strauss 's Salome , with the pivotal part of John the Baptist assigned to a baritone. (The enormous-voiced Dutch baritone Anton van Rooy ,

4278-406: The baritone a "revolutionary performer" because he was the first singer ever to succeed as a single person in delivering equally extraordinary performances in all three genres: opera, oratorio and lieder: "In his interpretations, he [Fischer-Dieskau] created a unity between text and music unlike few before or after him. He set the benchmark in enunciation, and he emphasised key words through changing

4371-412: The bass-baritone. The baryton-Martin baritone (sometimes referred to as light baritone) lacks the lower G 2 –B 2 range a heavier baritone is capable of, and has a lighter, almost tenor-like quality. Its common range is from C 3 to the B above middle C (C 3 to B 4 ). Generally seen only in French repertoire, this Fach was named after the French singer Jean-Blaise Martin . Associated with

4464-473: The beginning of the 19th century till the mid 1820s, the terms primo basso , basse chantante , and basse-taille were often used for men who would later be called baritones. These included the likes of Filippo Galli , Giovanni Inchindi , and Henri-Bernard Dabadie . The basse-taille and the proper bass were commonly confused because their roles were sometimes sung by singers of either actual voice part. The bel canto style of vocalism which arose in Italy in

4557-419: The best known Italian Verdi baritones of the 1920s and 1930s, Mariano Stabile , sang Iago and Rigoletto and Falstaff (at La Scala ) under the baton of Arturo Toscanini . Stabile also appeared in London, Chicago and Salzburg. He was noted more for his histrionic skills than for his voice, however. Stabile was followed by Tito Gobbi , a versatile singing actor capable of vivid comic and tragic performances during

4650-436: The building was remodeled by Paul Baumgarten and the seating reduced from 2,300 to 2,098 places. Carl Ebert , the pre-World War II general manager, chose to emigrate from Germany rather than endorse the Nazi view of music, and went on to co-found the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England. He was replaced by Max von Schillings , who acceded to demands that he enact works of "unalloyed German character". Several artists, like

4743-433: The comic principal). Notable operetta roles are: In barbershop music , the baritone part sings in a similar range to the lead (singing the melody) however usually singing lower than the lead. A barbershop baritone has a specific and specialized role in the formation of the four-part harmony that characterizes the style. The baritone singer is often the one required to support or "fill" the bass sound (typically by singing

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4836-433: The company announced the most recent extension of Runnicles' contract as its GMD, through 2027. In September 2023, the Deutsche Oper Berlin announced that Runnicles is to stand down as its GMD at the close of the 2025-2026 season, one season earlier than his most recent contract extension, at Runnicles' own request. The current Intendant (artistic director) of the company is Dietmar Schwarz, and his current contract with

4929-415: The company is through 31 July 2025. The current executive director of the company is Thomas Fehrle, who is currently contracted with the company through 2027. In February 2023, the company announced the appointment of Aviel Cahn as its next Intendant , effective 1 August 2026. In September 2006, the Deutsche Oper's then- Intendantin (general manager) Kirsten Harms drew criticism after she cancelled

5022-418: The conductor Fritz Stiedry and the singer Alexander Kipnis , followed Ebert into emigration. The opera house was destroyed by a Royal Air Force air raid on 23 November 1943. Performances continued at the Admiralspalast in Mitte until 1945. Ebert returned to serve as general manager after the war. After the war, in what had now been called West Berlin , the company, again called Städtische Oper , used

5115-461: The cylinders. However, a contemporary of Faure's, Antonio Cotogni, (1831–1918)—probably the foremost Italian baritone of his generation—can be heard, briefly and dimly, at the age of 77, on a duet recording with the tenor Francesco Marconi . (Cotogni and Marconi had sung together in the first London performance of Amilcare Ponchielli 's La Gioconda in 1883, performing the roles of Barnaba and Enzo respectively.) There are 19th-century references in

5208-399: The differentiation is based more heavily on timbre and tessitura. Accordingly, roles that fall into this category tend to have a slightly lower tessitura than typical Verdi baritone roles, only rising above an F at the moments of greatest intensity. Many of the Puccini roles fall into this category. However, it is important to note that, for all intents and purposes, a Verdi Baritone is simply

5301-464: The early 19th century supplanted the castrato -dominated opera seria of the previous century. It led to the baritone being viewed as a separate voice category from the bass. Traditionally, basses in operas had been cast as authority figures such as a king or high priest; but with the advent of the more fluid baritone voice, the roles allotted by composers to lower male voices expanded in the direction of trusted companions or even romantic leads—normally

5394-503: The first Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle at Bayreuth , while Reichmann created Amfortas in Parsifal , also at Bayreuth. Lyric German baritones sang lighter Wagnerian roles such as Wolfram in Tannhäuser , Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde or Telramund in Lohengrin . They made large strides, too, in the performance of art song and oratorio, with Franz Schubert favouring several baritones for his vocal music, in particular Johann Michael Vogl . Nineteenth-century operettas became

5487-585: The first famous American baritone appeared in the 1900s. It was the American-born but Paris-based Charles W. Clark who sang Italian, French and German composers. An outstanding group of virile-voiced American baritones appeared then in the 1920s. The younger members of this group were still active as recently as the late 1970s. Outstanding among its members were the Met-based Verdians Lawrence Tibbett (a compelling, rich-voiced singing actor), Richard Bonelli , John Charles Thomas , Robert Weede , Leonard Warren and Robert Merrill . They sang French opera, too, as did

5580-503: The first magnitude). Lassalle, Maurel and Renaud enjoyed superlative careers on either side of the Atlantic and left a valuable legacy of recordings. Five other significant Francophone baritones who recorded, too, during the early days of the gramophone/phonograph were Léon Melchissédec and Jean Noté of the Paris Opera and Gabriel Soulacroix , Henry Albers and Charles Gilibert of the Opéra-Comique. The Quaker baritone David Bispham , who sang in London and New York between 1891 and 1903,

5673-422: The former USSR to sing at the Met. Chernov followed in the footsteps of such richly endowed East European baritones as Ippolit Pryanishnikov (a favorite of Tchaikovski's), Joachim Tartakov (an Everardi pupil), Oskar Kamionsky (an exceptional bel canto singer nicknamed the "Russian Battistini"), Waclaw Brzezinski (known as the "Polish Battistini"), Georges Baklanoff (a powerful singing actor), and, during

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5766-552: The idiom at hand." In addition, he recorded in French, Russian, Hebrew , Latin and Hungarian . He was described as "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century" and "the most influential singer of the 20th Century". Fischer-Dieskau was ranked the second greatest singer of the century (after Jussi Björling ) by Classic CD (United Kingdom) "Top Singers of the Century" Critics' Poll (June 1999). The French dubbed him "Le miracle Fischer-Dieskau" and Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf called him "a born god who has it all." At his peak, he

5859-951: The late 19th and early 20th centuries while Schorr, Bockelmann and Nissen were stars of the 1920s and 1930s. In addition to their heavyweight Wagnerian cousins, there was a plethora of baritones with more lyrical voices active in Germany and Austria during the period between the outbreak of WW1 in 1914 and the end of WW2 in 1945. Among them were Joseph Schwarz  [ de ] , Heinrich Schlusnus , Herbert Janssen , Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender , Karl Schmitt-Walter and Gerhard Hüsch . Their abundant inter-war Italian counterparts included, among others, Carlo Galeffi , Giuseppe Danise , Enrico Molinari , Umberto Urbano , Cesare Formichi , Luigi Montesanto , Apollo Granforte , Benvenuto Franci , Renato Zanelli (who switched to tenor roles in 1924), Mario Basiola , Giovanni Inghilleri , Carlo Morelli (the Chilean-born younger brother of Renato Zanelli) and Carlo Tagliabue , who retired as late as 1958. One of

5952-453: The lighter-voiced Gérard Souzay have been notable. Souzay's repertoire extended from the Baroque works of Jean-Baptiste Lully to 20th-century composers such as Francis Poulenc . Pierre Bernac , Souzay's teacher, was an interpreter of Poulenc's songs in the previous generation. Older baritones identified with this style include France's Dinh Gilly and Charles Panzéra and Australia's John Brownlee . Another Australian, Peter Dawson , made

6045-664: The male voice. Gerald Moore retired completely in 1972, and died in 1987, aged 87. Their recordings of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise are highly prized as examples of their artistic partnership. Fischer-Dieskau also performed many works of contemporary music , including Benjamin Britten (who chose Fischer-Dieskau as the baritone soloist when writing War Requiem ), Samuel Barber , Hans Werner Henze , Karl Amadeus Hartmann (who wrote his Gesangsszene for him), Charles Ives , Ernst Krenek , Witold Lutosławski , Siegfried Matthus , Othmar Schoeck , Winfried Zillig , Gottfried von Einem and Aribert Reimann . He participated in

6138-406: The modern recording era, he challenged our perception and processes of how recordings could be made, explored the possibilities of modern recording and exploited the potential for the popularity of classical music – and all this while setting standards of artistic achievement, integrity, risk-taking, and of the aesthetic ideal that became our new norm. Whenever we bask in the beauty of his tone, revere

6231-441: The most respected of these ventures. (Others, such as the title role in Verdi's Macbeth (with Elena Souliotis ), Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La traviata , and Scarpia in Giacomo Puccini 's Tosca (with Birgit Nilsson ), are not delivered by him with the same degree of effectiveness.) As conductor Ferenc Fricsay put it, "I never dreamed I'd find an Italian baritone in Berlin." Fischer-Dieskau retired from opera in 1978,

6324-460: The musical literature to certain baritone subtypes. These include the light and tenorish baryton-Martin, named after French singer Jean-Blaise Martin (1768/69–1837), and the deeper, more powerful Heldenbariton (today's bass-baritone) of Wagnerian opera. Perhaps the most accomplished Heldenbaritons of Wagner's day were August Kindermann , Franz Betz and Theodor Reichmann . Betz created Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger and undertook Wotan in

6417-404: The nearby Theater des Westens ; its opening production was Fidelio , on 4 September 1945. Its home was finally rebuilt in 1961 but to a much-changed, sober design by Fritz Bornemann . The opening production of the newly renamed Deutsche Oper , on 24 September, was Mozart's Don Giovanni . On the evening of 2 June 1967, Benno Ohnesorg , a student taking part in the German student movement ,

6510-514: The non-Italian born baritones that were active in the third quarter of the 19th century, Tamburini's mantle as an outstanding exponent of Mozart and Donizetti's music was probably taken up most faithfully by a Belgian, Camille Everardi , who later settled in Russia and taught voice. In France, Paul Barroilhet succeeded Dabadie as the Paris opera's best known baritone. Like Dabadie, he also sang in Italy and created an important Donizetti role: in his case, Alphonse in La favorite (in 1840). Luckily,

6603-452: The part of Ford in Verdi's last opera, Falstaff . Notable among their contemporaries were the cultured and technically adroit French baritones Jean Lassalle (hailed as the most accomplished baritone of his generation), Victor Maurel (the creator of Verdi's Iago, Falstaff and Tonio in Leoncavallo 's Pagliacci ), Paul Lhérie (the first Posa in the revised, Italian-language version of Don Carlos ), and Maurice Renaud (a singing actor of

6696-510: The podium while conducting Aida , at age 54. In October 2005, Renato Palumbo was appointed GMD as of the 2006–2007 season. In October 2007, the Deutsche Oper announced the appointment of Donald Runnicles as their next Generalmusikdirektor , effective August 2009, for an initial contract of five years. Simultaneously, Palumbo and the Deutsche Oper mutually agreed to terminate his contract, effective November 2007. In November 2020,

6789-746: The preserve of lightweight baritone voices. They were given comic parts in the tradition of the previous century's comic bass by Gilbert and Sullivan in many of their productions. This did not prevent the French master of operetta, Jacques Offenbach , from assigning the villain's role in The Tales of Hoffmann to a big-voiced baritone for the sake of dramatic effect. Other 19th-century French composers like Meyerbeer, Hector Berlioz , Camille Saint-Saëns , Georges Bizet and Jules Massenet wrote attractive parts for baritones, too. These included Nelusko in L'Africaine (Meyerbeer's last opera), Mephistopheles in La damnation de Faust (a role also sung by basses),

6882-575: The probing, questioning power of his intellect, or simply wonder at the astonishing physical abilities throughout all that he has achieved in his long recording career, we must also pause and say THANK YOU to this great artist, whose legacy, like a great and bright star lighting the way for those who follow in his passion for singing, is exemplary in every way.—Thomas Hampson, May 2012, Hall of Fame, Gramophone Magazine. After Fischer-Dieskau's death, Le Monde , France's most internationally known newspaper, wrote that Fischer-Dieskau's vocal artistry bordered on

6975-435: The production of Mozart's opera Idomeneo by Hans Neuenfels , because of fears that a scene in that production featuring the severed heads of Jesus , Buddha and Muhammad would offend Muslims , and that the opera house's security might come under threat if violent protests took place. (This is a departure from the original libretto , in which there is no such scene.) Critics of the decision include German Ministers and

7068-543: The province of tenors. More often than not, however, baritones found themselves portraying villains. The principal composers of bel canto opera are considered to be: The prolific operas of these composers, plus the works of Verdi's maturity, such as Un ballo in maschera , La forza del destino , Don Carlos / Don Carlo , the revised Simon Boccanegra , Aida , Otello and Falstaff , blazed many new and rewarding performance pathways for baritones. Figaro in Il barbiere

7161-936: The range as it is known today at the beginning of the 18th century, but they were still lumped in with their bass colleagues until well into the 19th century. Many operatic works of the 18th century have roles marked as bass that in reality are low baritone roles (or bass-baritone parts in modern parlance). Examples of this are to be found, for instance, in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel . The greatest and most enduring parts for baritones in 18th-century operatic music were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . They include Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro , Guglielmo in Così fan tutte , Papageno in The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni . In theatrical documents, cast lists, and journalistic dispatches that from

7254-439: The range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F 2 –F 4 ) in choral music, and from the second A below middle C to the A above middle C (A 2 to A 4 ) in operatic music. Within the baritone voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, Kavalierbariton , Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and

7347-525: The rise of the baritone in the 19th century, Martin was well known for his fondness for falsetto singing, and the designation 'baryton Martin' has been used (Faure, 1886) to separate his voice from the 'Verdi Baritone', which carried the chest register further into the upper range. This voice type shares the primo passaggio and secondo passaggio with the Dramatic Tenor and Heldentenor (C 4 and F 4 respectively), and hence could be trained as

7440-517: The scene to take their place. In addition to his interpretations of lieder and the works of Mozart, Prey sang in Strauss operas and tackled lighter Wagner roles such as Wolfram or Beckmesser. Fischer-Dieskau sang parts in 'fringe' operas by the likes of Ferruccio Busoni and Paul Hindemith as well as appearing in standard works by Verdi and Wagner. He earned his principal renown, however, as a lieder singer. Talented German and Austrian lieder singers of

7533-561: The second half of the 19th century. The major international baritone of the first half of the 19th century was the Italian Antonio Tamburini (1800–1876). He was a famous Don Giovanni in Mozart's eponymous opera as well as being a Bellini and Donizetti specialist. Commentators praised his voice for its beauty, flexibility and smooth tonal emission, which are the hallmarks of a bel canto singer. Tamburini's range, however,

7626-494: The sound of the note on which the word was sung. Thus, he not only clarified the sense of the word, but he let every syllable and every note sound together and thereby created a unity of harmony and colours unlike anyone else. [...] He created a new dimension of the comprehensibility and understandability of the text." In 1949, Fischer-Dieskau married the cellist Irmgard Poppen. Together they had three sons: Mathias (a stage designer), Martin (a conductor), and Manuel (a cellist with

7719-419: The year he recorded his final opera, Aribert Reimann 's Lear , which the composer had written at his suggestion. He retired from the concert hall as of New Year's Day, 1993, at 67, and dedicated himself to conducting, teaching (especially the interpretation of Lieder), painting and writing books. He still performed as a reciter, reading for example the letters of Strauss to Hugo von Hofmannsthal (whose part

7812-463: The years of his prime in the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. He learned more than 100 roles in his lifetime and was mostly known for his roles in Verdi and Puccini operas, including appearances as Scarpia opposite soprano Maria Callas as Tosca at Covent Garden . Gobbi's competitors included Gino Bechi , Giuseppe Valdengo , Paolo Silveri , Giuseppe Taddei , Ettore Bastianini , Cesare Bardelli and Giangiacomo Guelfi . Another of Gobbi's contemporaries

7905-693: Was changed to Städtische Oper (Municipal Opera). With the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, the opera was under control of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda . Minister Joseph Goebbels had the name changed back to Deutsches Opernhaus , competing with the Berlin State Opera in Mitte controlled by his rival, the Prussian minister-president Hermann Göring . In 1935,

7998-764: Was descended from the Kammerherr von Dieskau, for whom Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the " Peasant Cantata "). He started singing as a child and began formal voice lessons at the age of 16. When he was drafted into the Wehrmacht during World War II in 1943, tending horses on the Russian Front , Fischer-Dieskau had just completed his secondary school studies and one semester at the Berlin Conservatory. He served in Grenadier Regiment 146 of

8091-638: Was exceeded in size only by that of the lion-voiced Titta Ruffo . Ruffo was the most commanding Italian baritone of his era or, arguably, any other era. He was at his prime from the early 1900s to the early 1920s and enjoyed success in Italy, England and America (in Chicago and later at the Met). The chief verismo composers were Giacomo Puccini , Ruggero Leoncavallo, Pietro Mascagni , Alberto Franchetti , Umberto Giordano and Francesco Cilea . Verdi's works continued to remain popular, however, with audiences in Italy,

8184-420: Was greatly admired for his interpretive insights and exceptional control of his soft, beautiful instrument. He dominated both the opera and concert platforms for over thirty years. Albert Dietrich Fischer was born in 1925 in Berlin to Albert Fischer, a school principal, and Theodora (née Klingelhoffer) Fischer, a teacher. In 1934, his father added the hyphenated "Dieskau" to the family name (through his mother, he

8277-488: Was probably closer to that of a bass-baritone than to that of a modern "Verdi baritone". His French equivalent was Henri-Bernard Dabadie, who was a mainstay of the Paris Opera between 1819 and 1836 and the creator of several major Rossinian baritone roles, including Guillaume Tell . Dabadie sang in Italy, too, where he originated the role of Belcore in L'elisir d'amore in 1832. The most important of Tamburini's Italianate successors were all Verdians. They included: Among

8370-569: Was read by Gert Westphal ), for the Rheingau Musik Festival in 1994; and both performing and recording Strauss's melodrama Enoch Arden . He also became an honorary member of the Robert Schumann Society. Throughout his career, his musicianship and technique were frequently described as flawless by critics. As Greg Sandow of Opera News put it, "Overall, his technique is breath-taking; someone should build

8463-554: Was shot in the streets around the opera house. He had been protesting against the visit to Germany by the Shah of Iran , who was attending a performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute . Past Generalmusikdirektoren (GMD, general music directors) have included Bruno Walter , Kurt Adler , Ferenc Fricsay , Lorin Maazel , Gerd Albrecht , Jesús López-Cobos , Giuseppe Sinopoli , and Christian Thielemann . In April 2001, Sinopoli died at

8556-569: Was the Welshman Geraint Evans , who famously sang Falstaff at Glyndebourne and created the roles of Mr. Flint and Mountjoy in works by Benjamin Britten . Some considered his best role to have been Wozzeck. The next significant Welsh baritone was Bryn Terfel . He made his premiere at Glyndebourne in 1990 and went on to build an international career as Falstaff and, more generally, in the operas of Mozart and Wagner. Perhaps

8649-604: Was the leading American male singer of this generation. He also recorded for the gramophone. The oldest-born star baritone known for sure to have made solo gramophone discs was the Englishman Sir Charles Santley (1834–1922). Santley made his operatic debut in Italy in 1858 and became one of Covent Garden's leading singers. He was still giving critically acclaimed concerts in London in the 1890s. The composer of Faust , Charles Gounod , wrote Valentine's aria "Even bravest heart" for him at his request for

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