Siegfried Lorenz | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lorenz in the 1970s | |
| Born | (1945-08-30)30 August 1945 East Berlin, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Died | 24 August 2024(2024-08-24) (aged 78) |
| Occupations |
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| Organizations | |
| Title | Kammersänger |
| Awards | |
Siegfried Lorenz (German:[ˈziːk.fʁiːtˈloː.ʁɛnts]; 30 August 1945 – 24 August 2024) was a Germanbaritone who performed opera, oratorio andLied. A member of theKomische Oper Berlin and later theBerlin State Opera, he made award-winning recordings and appeared as a guest internationally. He was also an academic voice teacher at theMusikhochschule Hamburg and theUniversität der Künste Berlin.
Born in Berlin on 30 August 1945,[1][2] Lorenz studied voice in his hometown at theHochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" 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 theKomische Oper Berlin byWalter Felsenstein in 1969. In 1973, he became the first vocal soloist at theGewandhaus in Leipzig, a position whichKurt Masur created for him. He performed and recorded several cantatas byJohann Sebastian Bach and became known as aLied singer. His recordings of songs byFranz Schubert received several awards.[1]
From 1978 to 1992, Lorenz was first lyrical baritone at theStaatsoper Berlin in Berlin. He appeared successfully as Wolfram in Wagner'sTannhäuser, as the Count in Mozart'sDie Hochzeit des Figaro, as Posa in Verdi'sDon Carlos, and as Borromeo in Hans Pfitzner'sPalestrina, among others.[1]
He recorded Mahler'sKindertotenlieder with the Gewandhausorchester and Masur, and Schubert song cycles with pianistNorman Shetler.[1] English music criticAlan Blyth reviewedWinterreise forGramophone 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 asFischer-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."[3] 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".[4]
Lorenz recorded the role of Beckmesser in Wagner'sDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg, alongsideBen Heppner,Cheryl Studer andBernd Weikl, conducted byWolfgang Sawallisch; this recording was nominated as theBest Opera Recording at the1994 Grammy Awards.[5] He recorded Bach's solo cantatas for bass,Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen andIch habe genug, with theNeues Bachisches Collegium Musicum conducted byMax Pommer, as well as orchestral works by Mahler includingLieder eines fahrenden Gesellen conducted byGünther Herbig andFünf Lieder nach Friedrich Rückert with theStaatskapelle Berlin conducted byOtmar Suitner.[1]
Lorenz performed as a guest in Europe, the US and Japan. In 1976, he was awarded the Kunstpreis, and in 1983 theNational Prize of the German Democratic Republic. In 1979, he received the titleKammersänger of the Berlin State Opera.[6][7] He was appointed professor in 1982, and taught from 2001 to 2003 at theMusikhochschule Hamburg, and from October 2003 at theUniversität der Künste Berlin.[1]
Lorenz lived in the Berlin-Mahlsdorf and died on 24 August 2024, at the age of 78.[8]
