Fritz Wunderlich

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Kusel: City Museum (with Fritz Wunderlich room)
Fritz Wunderlich Exhibition, 2010
Fritz Wunderlich Museum
Glance into one of the three Fritz Wunderlich rooms in the Kusel City and Local History Museum
Bronze bust of Fritz Wunderlich, created in 1973 by Erich Koch, in the Kuseler Stadtpark Benzinoscher Garten
Fritz Wunderlich's grave

Friedrich Karl Otto Wunderlich (born September 26, 1930 in Kusel , † September 17, 1966 in Heidelberg ) was a German opera singer ( lyric tenor ).

Life

family

Fritz Wunderlich grew up in simple circumstances in Kusel in the Palatinate . His father Paul, who came from Thuringia , was a cellist , conductor and choir conductor, his mother Anna, who was born in the Erzgebirge , was a violinist . In Kusel, the parents briefly ran the Emrichs Bräustübl inn . The father, who has since returned to music, was deprived of his position by local National Socialists and also suffered from a serious war injury. In this hopeless situation he took his own life when Fritz Wunderlich was only five years old. As a result, the family became completely impoverished. The mother gave music lessons, and Wunderlich learned various musical instruments at an early age and accompanied mother and sister when they played for musical entertainment in the evening. Later he was able to finance his music studies with dance music himself.

In 1956 he married the harpist Eva Jungnitsch (born December 5, 1934 in Stuttgart ; † November 20, 2016 in Munich ). The children Constanze, Wolfgang and Barbara were born in 1957, 1959 and 1964. The family initially lived in Stuttgart and later in Munich.

career

Fritz Wunderlich played light music in various groups from a young age and received his first singing lessons in Kaiserslautern . He studied from 1950 to 1955 at the Freiburg Conservatory first horn , and later with Margarethe von Winterfeldt singing . He had his first official opera appearance in 1954 at a university performance in Freiburg as Tamino in Mozart's Magic Flute . Thereupon he was engaged at the Württemberg State Opera in Stuttgart in 1955 . When he - also as Tamino - was allowed to step in for a sick colleague, the first tenor Josef Traxel , because Wolfgang Windgassen , who was actually intended as a replacement, waived in favor of the beginner, he became a star practically overnight.

From 1959 he was first with a guest contract, from 1960 as a permanent member of the ensemble at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. From 1962 he made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera , whose ensemble he was a member from 1963 until his death. Since 1959 he has been a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival , engagements have taken him to Berlin, Aix-en-Provence, Venice, Buenos Aires, London, Edinburgh and Milan, among others.

By Karl Bohm Wunderlich became the Salzburg Festival invited, where he debuted 1959th He sang Henry Morosus in the opera Die Schweigsame Frau by Richard Strauss in a production by Günther Rennert with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera choir . A colleague in the role of the barber was Hermann Prey . Both singers were awarded the title of chamber singer on March 9, 1962.

End of life

Wunderlich was at the height of his career and was to make his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on October 8, 1966 . But shortly before his 36th birthday he fell (caused by negligently tied shoes) from a staircase in the house of Heinz Blanc († 1978), son of Heinrich Blanc , in Oberderdingen im Kraichgau and suffered a fractured skull, which he suffered the next Day died in a clinic in Heidelberg. He was buried in Munich in the old part of the forest cemetery (grave no. 212-W-18).

meaning

Poster above the Kusel City Museum, 2005

Wunderlich became famous for his radiant, clear voice, balanced over two octaves, which has had a natural, unaffected fit, especially since his collaboration with Hubert Giesen . His vocal intensity and his ability to empathize with a role were extraordinary. To this day he is considered perhaps the greatest lyric tenor of the 20th century, but certainly one of the most important German singers. Luciano Pavarotti answered when he was asked in an interview in 1990 who he considered the most outstanding tenor in history: "Fritz Wunderlich." The booklet accompanying the double CD Fritz Wunderlich - The 50 Greatest Tracks from 2016 includes quotes from prominent artists Fritz Wunderlich, from Nicolai Gedda , Peter Schreier , Plácido Domingo and Rolando Villazón to Anneliese Rothenberger , Brigitte Fassbaender and Christa Ludwig . They all give him the greatest admiration. For example, baritone Thomas Hampson says : "Fritz Wunderlich's life was a unique combination of talent, love of life, energy and ambition ... It is proof of the degree of perfection a singer can achieve."

Some of the most famous roles were Wunderlich of Tamino in Mozart's Magic Flute , the Belmonte in The Abduction from the Seraglio , the Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Henry in The Silent Woman by Richard Strauss . As the most important Mozart singer of his time, he set new standards that are still valid today. In Stuttgart and at the Schwetzingen Festival , he also worked on premieres of modern operas (z. B. The auditor of WERNER EGK ). His Lenski in Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin and his outstanding, unusually mature interpretation of Palestrina in the opera of the same name by Hans Pfitzner are also worth mentioning . Not to forget his Hans in Smetana's Sold Bride . In addition to opera, his large repertoire also included the tenor parts of the great oratorios , operettas (here some complete recordings under Franz Marszalek ), songs and light music . Wunderlich's song interpretations (including Schubert , Schumann ) with his mentor Hubert Giesen as a companion are still widely admired today. His achievements are documented on numerous radio recordings (especially by SWF , WDR , SDR and BR ) and records, which are published again and again even decades after his accidental death.

Ulrich Tukur says of Wunderlich: "He had the most beautiful and purest voice that ever existed, a divine talent."

He was on friendly terms with the baritone Hermann Prey , who often appeared on stage with him. Wunderlich found a fatherly friend, who had lost his own father at a young age, in the bassist Gottlob Frick , in whose house he was a frequent guest. With Frick he pursued their common hobby, hunting.

Wunderlich showed his ties to his homeland with the humble song he wrote and set to music at the age of 20 , which he played in Robert Lembke's guess show What am I? In June 1963 . and which has since become the Kuseler "national anthem".

As a tribute to the artist, the Austrian show ensemble chose the name Die Herren Wunderlich .

Discography

Wunderlich's discography includes hundreds of works from operas, operettas, oratorios, lieder and popular music.

Newer publications are:

  • Fritz Wunderlich - Great Singers Live . CD, BR-KLASSIK 2016.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - The 50 Greatest Tracks. 2 CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2016.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - Complete Studio Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. 32 CD, 120-page booklet, Deutsche Grammophon 2016.
  • The unforgettable Fritz Wunderlich . Deluxe edition for the 80th birthday, 6 CD, 1 single, 120-page booklet, Deutsche Grammophon 2010.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - Live on Stage . CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2010.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - The best . 2 CD, RCA 2010.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - A Poet among Tenors . 6 CD, EMI 2010.
  • Fritz Wunderlich sings Mozart . CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2010.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - one voice, one legend . 10 CD, membrane 2010.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - And the stars flashed . CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2009.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - Sacred Arias . CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2007.
  • Christmas music with Fritz Wunderlich, Hermann Prey, Will Quadflieg . CD, Polydor (Universal) 2007.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - The early years 1956-58 . CD, Sony BMG 2007.
  • Whimsically popular . CD, Polydor 2007.
  • Fritz Wunderlich - life and legend . DVD on the 40th anniversary of death, Univ.Music / DG 2006.
  • Wonderfully private . CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2006.
  • Wunderlich In Wien (Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper, conductor: Robert Stolz ). CD, Polydor 2005.
  • The Magic of Wunderlich . 2 CD and DVD, Deutsche Grammophon 2005.
  • The Art of Fritz Wunderlich . 7 CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2005.
  • The last recital . CD, Deutsche Grammophon 2003.

Awards

literature

  • Barbara Schuttpelz: "A life for music" - biographical notes on Fritz Wunderlich (1930–1966). In: Mobilitas. Festschrift for Werner Schreiner's 70th birthday, edited by Klaus Frédéric Johannes with editorial assistance from Wolfgang Müller , (= series of publications of the Neustadt district group in the Historisches Verein der Pfalz, NF 1), Neustadt an der Weinstraße 2017, pp. 685–690.
  • Werner Pfister: Fritz Wunderlich. Biography . Schweizer Verlagshaus, Zurich 1990, ISBN 3-7263-6612-1 .
  • Joachim Puttkammer: The Fritz Wunderlich phenomenon . Bülten Verlag, Kückenshagen 2005, ISBN 3-938510-12-9 .
  • Fred Scharf: Fritz Wunderlich as a reminder. Directory of his radio and vinyl recordings. 3. Edition. Self-published, Stockelsdorf 2002.
  • Horst Ferdinand: Wunderlich, Fritz. In: Baden-Württemberg biographies. Volume 2, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-17-014117-1 , pp. 502–504 ( E-Text )

Documentaries

  • Fritz Wunderlich - life and legend. Documentary, Germany, Austria, 2006, 58 min., Script and direction: Thomas Voigt, Barbara and Wolfgang Wunderlich, production: Wunderlich Medien, Loopfilm, SWR , BR , arte , first broadcast: September 25, 2006 on arte.
  • Born in Kusel. Fritz Wunderlich. Documentary, Germany, 1977, 43 min., Script and direction: Alexander Wischnewski, production: Südwestfunk , summary by ARD .

Audio samples

Web links

Commons : Fritz Wunderlich  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Fritz Wunderlich  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary notice Eva Wunderlich in the Süddeutsche Zeitung from November 26, 2016
  2. ↑ Program Salzburg Festival 1959 - Richard Strauss • The Silent Woman
  3. ↑ The tenor Fritz Wunderlich died 50 years ago. In: derwesten.de of September 14, 2016, accessed on January 5, 2017.
  4. ↑ Fritz Wunderlich - Life and Legend. Documentary, Germany, Austria, 2006. In one scene of the film, the contract with the Metropolitan Opera is faded in.
  5. ↑ Hubert Giesen : On the wing: Hubert Giesen. My memories . Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1972, ISBN 3-10-025401-5 , pp. 251-260. From: Fritz Wunderlich - The Great German Tenor . In: andreas-praefcke.de. 1998, accessed April 29, 2016.
  6. ↑ Interview with Ulrich Tukur, in: Der Sonntag, December 3, 2017, p. 9.
  7. ↑ audite CD 95.619 - Igor Stravinsky: Perséphone
  8. ↑ Guy Wagner: On the death of Fritz Wunderlich († September 17, 1966) ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: guywagner.net. October 1966. Retrieved April 29, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.guywagner.net
personal data
SURNAME Wonderful, Fritz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wunderlich, Friedrich Karl Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (lyric tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH September 26, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Kusel
DATE OF DEATH 17th September 1966
Place of death Heidelberg