Fritz Wunderlich
Fritz Wunderlich could be considered the James Dean of the singing world -- a young, charismatic performer who suffered a tragic death at the height of his career and abilities, and whose posthumous reputation has grown beyond that which he was able to enjoy during his short life. Considered among the finest Mozartean tenors of his day, Wunderlich embraced a wide repertory that expanded to included the works of Strauss, Schubert, Bach, and Mahler, and he left behind many excellent recordings that have been the primary source of his legacy.
Wunderlich (Friedrich Karl Otto) was born in Kusel, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. His life included music from the very beginning, since his father was the director of a local choir and his mother was a violinist. The young tenor gained mild local celebrity for his singing in Kusel, and in 1950 he departed for the Freiburg Musikhochschule with partial financing from the town; he met the remainder of his study-related expenses by directing a small dance band in Breisgau. Wunderlich's first operatic appearance was, appropriately enough, as Tamino in a student production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte -- a role with which he would remain associated for the rest of his career. In fact, he made his professional debut with the very same piece just a year later (1955) at the Stuttgart Opera. He remained with Stuttgart until he was hired by the Frankfurt Opera company, staying there from 1958 to 1960. He first appeared in the Salzburg Festival in 1959, where he sang the part of Henry in Richard Strauss's Die schweigsame Frau. He became a member of the Munich Opera in 1960 and from 1962 also was a regular at the Vienna State Opera.
Wunderlich quickly earned a reputation as the leading lyric tenor in Germany. His clear, strong voice easily filled an operatic hall, but he always retained a purity of sound and line that was equally well suited to more intimate settings. In international appearances he essayed mostly Mozart roles, for which he was especially celebrated and which did not tax the dramatic limits of his voice; however in the smaller houses of his native Germany he explored slightly more adventurous repertory, including Alfredo in La Traviata and Lensky in Eugene Onegin. All of his performances were marked by an unflappable lyricism and an associated control of phrasing and breath -- both of which have remained his most lauded qualities. Wunderlich created the role of Tiresias in the first performance of Carl Orff's Oedipus der Tyrann in Stuttgart in 1959, and sang the part of Christoph in Werner Egk's Die Verlobung in San Domingo in Munich in 1962. He contemplated expanding further, into the lyrical Wagnerian roles. This was not to be, as he died in an accidental fall at a friend's home.
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Fritz Wunderlich - Ich liebe dich
Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Fritz Wunderlich
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 1 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich
Fritz Wunderlich, Munich Radio Orchestra, Kurt Peter Eichhorn
Opera - Released by BR-Klassik on 1 Jan 2006
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hits from the 50s
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SWR Classic on 10 Feb 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Operetta Arias
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SWR Classic on 8 Sep 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wunderlich: Opernarien (Bayerischer Rundfunk 1961-1966) [Live]
Fritz Wunderlich, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Horst Stein, Siegfried Köhler, Kurt Peter Eichhorn
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich sings
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich: Best Recordings of All Time
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 13 Jul 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Alcina
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music before Bach
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SWR Classic on 12 Jan 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantische Arien
Opera - Released by SWR Classic on 9 Jun 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Legendary Wunderlich
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 26 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: La creation (Live)
Gundula Janowitz, Fritz Wunderlich, Hermann Prey, Kim Borg, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg on 1 Jan 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best of Schubert
Fritz Wunderlich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 26 Oct 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dichterliebe / Die schöne Müllerin / Works by Beethoven & Mozart
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 24 May 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich: Die Tenor-Legende
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on 30 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Champagner-Operette
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 9 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich - Der letzte Liederabend
Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Das Weihnachtsalbum
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 16 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -