Karl-Heinz Thiemann

Karl-Heinz Thiemann (* 1933 in Herbern near Münster , Westphalia ) is a German opera singer ( tenor ).

Life

Origin and education

Thiemann was born in the Münsterland . He comes from a musical family. He worked as a railway official and initially appeared as a soloist in various choral societies. After a successful audition, he studied singing from 1956 to 1961 at the Dortmund Conservatory with Ks. Rudolf Watzke and at the Cologne University of Music with Dietger Jakob. During his studies he sang the tenor part in the Verdi Requiem in Dortmund in a performance by students of the Conservatory.

Early years

He had his first permanent engagement (as "lyric tenor and intermediate tenor") at the Koblenz City Theater . There he made his debut in 1961 as Florestan in Fidelio . In his first season he sang a total of six different specialist roles there: including Alvaro in Die Macht des Schicksals , Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana , Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Ernesto in Don Pasquale . In his second season 1962/1963 he took over Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1963), Max in Der Freischütz (1963) and for the first time the title role in Lohengrin (alongside Edeltraud Blanke as Elsa von Brabant). During his time in Koblenz he also appeared as Max at the Eutin Festival .

Another permanent engagement followed from 1965 to 1968 as a "youthful hero tenor" at the Essen Opera House . There he took on youthful-dramatic roles such as the title role in Andrea Chénier and Hugo von Ringstetten in Undine .

Fixed engagement at the Nuremberg Opera House

During the 1965/66 season, in April 1966, Thiemann made a brief guest appearance at the Nuremberg Opera House for the first time , as Hoffmann in the opera Hoffmanns Erzählungen . Thereupon he was hired by GMD Hans Gierster as a guest for the title role in Don Carlos (1966, with Janis Martin as Princess Eboli) at the Nuremberg Opera House. From the 1968/69 season, Thiemann was a permanent member of the Nuremberg Opera House until his retirement at the end of the 1997/98 season. For decades it was one of the “pillars of the house”. Thiemann's inaugural role in Nuremberg was the title role in Othello (premiere: December 1968, with Catarina Ligendza as Desdemona). He later sang Othello again in another new production of Othello in Nuremberg (premiere: April 1978; director: Hansjörg Utzerath ; with Ursula Wendt-Walther as Desdemona).

Thiemann sang all specialist roles in the role of the youthful hero tenor in Nuremberg, and later he gradually added numerous great hero tenor roles to his repertoire. Thiemann also sang the role of the heavy character tenor at the Nuremberg Opera House.

In 1970 he appeared in Nuremberg for the first time in the role of Max in Der Freischütz (director: Hans-Peter Lehmann ). In a production by Peter Beauvais , he took on the role of Max again in a new production at the Nuremberg Opera House in 1980 (premiere: April 1980; conductor: Hans Gierster . Thiemann sang this role continuously until 1986, and continued to resume from November 1988 to June 1989 ). In September 1971 he sang Herod in Salome for the first time in Nuremberg (with Claudia Hellmann and Astrid Varnay as Herodias, among others ). Other roles by Thiemann in the 1970s were Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten (1973; director: Hans-Peter Lehmann, conductor: Hans Gierster, with Astrid Varnay as nurse), Dimitri in Boris Godunow (season 1973/74; with Dunja Vejzovic as Marina and Astrid Varnay as innkeeper), Hermann in Pique Dame (premiere: October 1975; director: Werner Düggelin ; musical direction: Hans Gierster), Prinz in Rusalka (premiere: December 1975; director: Bohumil Herlischka , conductor: Hans Gierster), Tikhon in Katja Kabanowa (1977) and Vladimir in Prince Igor (1978).

Wagner roles at the Nuremberg Opera House

Thiemann was often used as a Wagner tenor at the Nuremberg Opera House, especially after Sebastian Feiersinger left (1975) . For decades at the Nuremberg Opera House he was regarded as the “epitome of the Wagner singer”.

In the 1970/71 season he sang Lohengrin for the first time at the Nuremberg Opera House, in a production by Hans-Peter Lehmann; he took on this role in the resumption in July 1980. In the 1989/90 season he sang Lohengrin again in a new production by Ernst A. Klusen , as a squatting next to Thomas Sunnegardh . In May 1991 he last appeared as Lohengrin. In May 1971 Thiemann sang the role of Walter von Stolzing in the opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for the first time at the Nuremberg Opera House (director: Hans-Peter Lehmann; revived in 1981). From 1986 to 1989 he took over Stolzing again (as a squatting next to Wolfgang Fassler in a new Meistersinger production by Heinz Lukas-Kindermann ; premiere: November 1986). He last sang the Stolzing in May 1989.

In December 1977 he sang Erik for the first time in Der Fliegende Holländer (conductor: Hans Gierster; director: Luca Ronconi ; on his first directorial debut in Germany). He later took on the role of Erik again in the 1992/1993 season, from April 1993 alongside Bent Norup in the title role; also in the revivals in 1994 and 1996. In April 1994 he sang Erik in the farewell performance of the Nuremberg soprano Ursula Wendt-Walther. In July 1996 he last appeared as Erik.

In 1978 he took over the box in Das Rheingold (premiere: July 1978; director: Hansgünther Heyme , conductor: Hans Gierster) in the Nuremberg Ring cycle, which was then canceled for financial reasons. In February 1983 he sang the title role in Parsifal for the first time (director: Gert Westphal ; musical direction: Hans Gierster). In October 1983 he made his debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre (premiere: October 1983; director: Gerhard Klingenberg ; musical direction: Hans Gierster).

Later in his career at the Nuremberg Opera House, Thiemann developed the great hero tenor roles under the conductor Christian Thielemann : the title roles in Tannhäuser (premiere: October 1990; to December 1991) and Tristan und Isolde (premiere: March 1992; most recently in June 1993). During his time as GMD in Nuremberg, Thielemann used Thiemann in numerous major main roles, especially in operas by Richard Wagner , Richard Strauss and Hans Pfitzner .

Commitment to the modern

During his career, Thiemann also repeatedly took on roles from the field of modernism. The music of the 20th century was of particular interest. Thiemann's strong affinity for modern music was also evident in his verbal clarity and creative power.

In the 1970/71 season (premiere: December 1970) Thiemann sang Aron in Moses und Aron . Thiemann's "ariose eloquence" was highlighted in reviews. In his interpretation of the Aron he was characterized as a "very expressive singing tenor". In 1971 he sang Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg in Mathis der Maler (director: Hans-Peter Lehmann; premiere: April 1971); in June 1974 Desportes followed in Die soldiers (conductor: Hans Gierster, director: Hans-Peter Lehmann). In April 1972 he took part in the first performance in Nuremberg of the scenic oratorio Das Floß der Medusa by Hans Werner Henze . In June 1975 he made a guest appearance in this production with the ensemble of the Nuremberg Opera as part of the Maggio Musicale at the Teatro Comunale in Florence .

In October 1980 he took on the extensive, difficult role of Görge in the world premiere of the opera Der Traumgörge by Alexander Zemlinsky . In 1982 he sang the role of Edmund in the Nuremberg premiere of the opera Lear (premiere: March 1982). Thiemann "characterized Edmund with cynical, cutting tones". In December 1982 the Oedipus followed in Oedipus Rex (premiere: December 1982; with Gail Gilmore as Iokaste). In the Nuremberg premiere of the opera Baal (premiere: June 1984) by Friedrich Cerha he was heard as a manufacturer Mech. In 1985 he sang the servant Jean in the Nuremberg premiere (premiere: January 1985, Kammerspiele Nuremberg) of the opera Fräulein Julie by Antonio Bibalo . In 1986 he took on the title role in the world premiere of the opera Satyros by Andreas Nick (premiere: June 1986; Nuremberg, Katharinenruine Nuremberg ). In 1988 he was Hans (Gregor's brother) in the world premiere of the opera Über die Dörfer by Walter Zimmermann , alongside Martha Mödl (premiere: June 1988).

Premiere roles since 1980

Other premiere roles by Thiemann in the 1980s included: Graf Elemer in Arabella (premiere: December 1980; production: Hans Neugebauer , conductor: Hans Gierster), Florestan (premiere: December 1981, director: Hans Neugebauer; conductor: Hans Gierster, next to Gerlinde Lorenz and Johanna-Lotte Fecht as Leonore; in May 1984 in a gala performance with Jeannine Altmeyer and Ks. Gerd Feldhoff ), Lord Arturo Bucklaw in Lucia di Lammermoor (production: Gilbert Deflo ; premiere: April 1983; in June 1983 also in one Gala performance at the Nuremberg Opera House with José Carreras ), Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos (director: Heinz Lukas-Kindermann; premiere: May 1986; in June 1986 in a gala performance with Janis Martin), Aegisth in Elektra (director: Heinz Lukas-Kindermann ; Conductor: Hans Gierster in his last Nuremberg opera premiere; premiere: May 1987; resumption in July 1988), Falsacappa in Die Banditen (premiere: July 1987), host in Der Rosenkavalier (director: Heinz-Lukas-Kinde rmann; Conductor: Christian Thielemann; Premiere: October 1987; Resumption: December 1989; in March 1989 in a gala performance with Gwyneth Jones ; last time in April 1991, with the always safe high B at the position "Your High Princely Grace, the Princess Field Marshal" in Act 3) and schoolmaster in The Cunning Little Fox (director: Heinz Lukas-Kindermann; conductor: Wolfgang Gayler ; premiere: December 1987, until the end of the 1987/1988 season).

In the opening premiere of the 1988/89 season, Thiemann sang the title role in Palestrina (premiere: October 1988; revival: April 1989; director: Hansjörg Utzerath; musical direction: Christian Thielemann).

Herodes followed in Salome (premiere: January 1990; director: Wilfried Minks ; conductor: Christian Thielemann; last March 1993), Agrippa von Nettesheim in Der feurige Engel (conductor: Eberhard Kloke ; premiere: March 1994), Alfred in Die Fledermaus ( Premiere: December 1994; most recently in December 1997), the title role in the oratorio Belshazzar von Handel (premiere: June 1995, in the Stadttheater Fürth ), again Aegisth in Elektra (premiere: December 1995; conductor: Eberhard Kloke; set design and director: Rosalie ; most recently in December 1997) and Koloman Zsupan in Der Zigeunerbaron (premiere: December 1996). He sang this role in December 1997 in the New Year's Eve performance. Thiemann's last premiere as a permanent member of the ensemble was in the 1997/98 season with Siegfried in the operetta Die lustigen Nibelungen , in a production of the Nuremberg Opera House in the Dehnberger Hoftheater (director: Wulf Konold ; premiere: February 1998).

He also sang (as an alternative and a second cast): Canio in Der Bajazzo (March 1989 – April 1990; conductor: Christian Thielemann) and Eléazar in Die Jüdin (June 1994 – April 1996). Thiemann took over the role of Eléazar from the third performance of Ks. Wolfgang Millgramm . He then sang all subsequent performances with great success until July 1995. When it was resumed in February 1996, Thiemann again took on the role of Eléazar; he sang in three of the five performances in the series.

Guest performances

Since the mid-1960s, Thiemann has been a regular guest at various opera houses in Germany and has made guest appearances in numerous European music centers.

He appeared on the following stages, among others: Hamburgische Staatsoper (1965 as Matteo in Arabella ; 1967 as a painter in Lulu next to Anneliese Rothenberger ; in the 1970s as Herod in the revival of Salome , next to Gwyneth Jones and Bernd Weikl ; later also as Kaiser next to Franz-Ferdinand Nentwig as Barak), Deutsche Oper Berlin (painter in Lulu next to Evelyn Lear ; Herodes in Salome next to Ursula Schröder-Feinen ; 1972 as Aron in a festival performance for the 60th birthday of Ks. Josef Greindl ), Berlin State Opera ( 1979; as Kaiser; conductor: Ernst Märzendorfer ), Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Prinz / Rusalka; Florestan, Walther von Stolzing), State Opera Stuttgart (season 1967/68, as Matteo; later also as Aegisth in a guest performance at the Nuremberg Opera), Staatstheater Hannover (1967/68 season in a total of 15 performances as the knight Hugo von Ringstetten in Undine ; 1974/75 season as Kaiser), Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (first season 1964/65 as Flores tan; later there in 1967/68 as Hugo, 1975 as Prinz / Rusalka, later also as Kaiser with Christof Prick as conductor and as Walther von Stolzing), Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Lohengrin, Herodes), Bavarian State Opera (April 1971; guest performance of the Nuremberg Opera with Moses and Aron ) and the Kiel Opera House (1986/87 season as Bacchus).

At the Vienna State Opera he was engaged as the cover for Sven-Olof Eliasson 's new production of Moses and Aron (season 1973/74; WA 1976); In February 1975 he took over Lohengrin at short notice together with Karl-Walter Böhm as a step in for an act in order to save the performance.

At the Nice Festival in 1965 he sang Matteo in Arabella alongside Melitta Muszely (title role) and Ruth-Margret Pütz (as Zdenka). He made guest appearances in Rome (June 1971, concert performance of the opera Salome , conductor: Zubin Mehta ), Milan (concert performance of the opera Moses und Aron with Josef Greindl), Trieste (Teatro Comunale Trieste, January 1971 as a painter in Lulu with Maria Michels in the title role), Barcelona (1967 as a painter in Lulu ; later, in the 1970s as Walther von Stolzing), Bilbao (concert performance of Act 1 Die Walküre and Act 3 Lohengrin ) and Bucharest (as Lohengrin; early 1970s in the first complete Wagner performance in Romania since the Second World War ).

In 1977 he made guest appearances in the USA as Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Portland at the Portland Summer Opera; his German-speaking partners in an otherwise American line-up were Manfred Schenk as Hans Sachs and Klaus Hirte as Beckmesser.

In December 1992 / January 1993 he appeared in Antwerp at the Flemish Opera (De Vlaamse Opera) in a new musical production of the opera Elektra as Aegisth. He "created the Aegisth with an intact Heldentenor and thus had some colleagues in this game much ahead."

Concert repertoire

The focus of Thiemann's singing career was opera; however, he also regularly took on concert roles.

His repertoire included: 9th Symphony (Dortmund, Koblenz, Frankfurt am Main, last in January 1996 in Nuremberg), Das Lied von der Erde (April 1971 in Trieste , with Maureen Forrester ; conductor: Hans Gierster; Nuremberg) and Die Jakobsleiter (1975; Florence as part of the Maggio Musicale and Nuremberg; conductor: Hans Gierster).

In 1971 he sang in the European premiere of Kosmogonia for solos (soprano, tenor, bass), mixed choir and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki (with Sonja Poot, soprano; Kurt Moll , bass) in Nuremberg . In April 1998, he performed in a concert of Hans Sachs choir Nuremberg by Heinrich Schütz , the musical obsequies . In December 1998 he was a soloist at a pre-Christmas concert in St. Andrew's Church in Kalchreuth ; he sang songs by Richard Trunk and Peter Cornelius , among others

retirement

At the end of the 1997/98 season in July 1998, Thiemann retired from the Nuremberg ensemble due to age. He was made an honorary member of the Nuremberg Opera House. This also honored Thiemann's longstanding commitment as chairman of the staff council and chairman of the Deutsche Bühnengenossenschaft (Cooperative of German Stage Members GDBA).

After that he continued to appear as a guest at the Nuremberg Opera House: in the revival of the operetta Die lustigen Nibelungen in October 1998 (again at the Dehnberger Hoftheater), as a lieutenant in Doktor Faust (1998/1999 season, premiere: November 1998; until June 1999) and as Ulrich Eißlinger in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (premiere: April 2000; revival: June 2004). In July 2004 he was Ulrich Eißlinger for the last time on the stage of the Nuremberg Opera House. Thiemann had his last public appearance as a singer at the Nuremberg Opera House in March 2006 as part of the series of events "The Red Sofa" in the Gluck Hall of the Opera House; he sang the song "Zueignung" by Richard Strauss with piano accompaniment .

Thiemann lives, now largely withdrawn, in Kalchreuth near Nuremberg.

Audio documents

In June 1971 Thiemann sang Herod in a concert performance in Rome in the opera Salome ; his partners were Montserrat Caballé (title role) and Zubin Mehta (conductor). The recording was recorded by RAI Rom and later published on CD .

The premiere of the opera Doctor Faustus , with Thiemann in the small role of the lieutenant, was broadcast in November 1998 on the radio program of the Bavarian Radio and broadcast live on arte . In February 1999, Doctor Faustus was recorded by Bayerischer Rundfunk and broadcast on Bavarian television .

Thiemann also made live recordings from the Nuremberg Opera House (Meistersinger, Parsifal, Tannhäuser, Tristan, Palestrina) and private recordings.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Siegfried Augustin : Karl-Heinz Thiemann. A portrait of the artist in some of his major roles (CD booklet; 2008).
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} We introduce: Karl-Heinz Thiemann . In: program and cast sheet for the opera Lohengrin ; Performance on July 5, 1980 ( Nuremberg Opera House )
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Program booklet New Year's Concert of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra 1996 from 5./6. January 1996, p. 5.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} program booklet for the Hans Sachs Choir Nuremberg from April 10, 1998
5. ↑ State Theater Nuremberg . Nuremberg 2005, p. 52. ISBN 3-924773-12-2
6. ↑ State Theater Nuremberg . Nuremberg 2005, p. 66. ISBN 3-924773-12-2
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Jens Voskamp: Farewell to the stage in: Nürnberger Nachrichten of July 22, 1998
8. ^ "Moses und Aron" - the highlight of the Nuremberg Opera (performance review) in: Melos , Volume 36, Issue 2, pp. 70/71
9. ^ Musica: Monthly for all areas of musical life ; Volume 25 (1971), page 40
10. ^ "Traumgörge", Zemlinsky, DOBerlin Tamino Klassikforum; Entry from June 13, 2007
11. ↑ Klaus Schultz (Ed.): Aribert Reimanns Lear. Way of a new opera . Munich 1984. p. 170 (cast). ISBN 3-423-10152-0 .
12. ^ Walter Bronnenmeyer: Disassembly of a person ; Performance review in: Opernwelt , May 1982, pp. 32/33.
13. ↑ Baal (cast 1984)
14. ↑ "Karl-Heinz Thiemann ... created a fascinatingly dazzling, incomprehensible figure with dramatic and vocal conciseness". Performance review by Walter Bronnenmeyer: A categorical Harakiri in: Opernwelt , March 1985. S. 38/39
15. ↑ "Karl-Heinz Thiemann, Nuremberg's heavy hero tenor for years, fills the figure of the stubborn Jew with the character traits of a strong personality ... The singer-actor draws the dazzling portrait of the lonely father ... His powerful Wagner voice, which has matured to Tristan the text vividly over the ramp, nevertheless savoring the melodic beauties. "; Performance review by Fritz Schleicher: Jüdische Passion ; Nürnberger Nachrichten of June 23, 1994
16. ↑ Karl Martyniak (Ed.): OPERAdat. Interpreter lexicon. Singer lexicon. 2nd edition Düsseldorf 1998
17. ↑ Elektra . Performance review by Thomas Tillmann in: Orpheus . Issue 3/1993; P. 63
18. ↑ Towards death . Concert review by Jens Voskmp. in: Nürnberger Nachrichten of April 14, 1998
19. ↑ Christmas concert . Concert review in: Erlanger Nachrichten of December 4, 1998
20. ↑ The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (Städtische Bühnen Nürnberg; occupation from July 4/11, 2004)
21. ^ Salome ( Memento of March 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Discography
22. ^ Doctor Faustus sound and film documents
23. ^ Oper Nuremberg: Doctor Faust combines opera and theater performance criticism