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.
© TiVo
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Mozart : Die Zauberflöte
Fritz Wunderlich, Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on May 31, 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: The Creation
Fritz Wunderlich, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1957
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss: Die schweigsame Frau, Op. 80, TrV 265
Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Heinz Wallberg, Fritz Wunderlich, Hans Hotter, Hermann Prey, Ingeborg Hallstein
Opera - Released by BR-Klassik on Apr 5, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin + 3 Lieder
Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Sep 2, 2016
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Dichterliebe / Beethoven & Schubert: Lieder
Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1997
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mackeben, Lortzing & Others: Operas
Fritz Wunderlich, Munich Radio Orchestra, Hans Moltkau
Opera - Released by BR-Klassik on Jan 1, 2006
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler : Das Lied von der Erde
Otto Klemperer, Fritz Wunderlich, Christa Ludwig, Philharmonia Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Alcina, HWV 34 by Dame Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Sutherland, Fritz Wunderlich, Ferdinand Leitner
Opera - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Feb 23, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich: Musical Pearls
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lieder (Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann...)
Fritz Wunderlich, Josef Müller-Mayen, Rolf Reinhardt, Hubert Giesen
Lieder (German) - Released by SWR Classic on Sep 14, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich - Der große deutsche Tenor
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct 2, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich - The 50 Greatest Tracks
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Sep 9, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Very Best of Fritz Wunderlich
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Feb 15, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Le prince des ténors
Secular Vocal Music - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on Dec 23, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Christmas Album
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Oct 16, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Dichterliebe / Beethoven & Schubert: Lieder
Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Fritz Wunderlich
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Aug 1, 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 Jan 1, 2006
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Operetta Arias
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SWR Classic on Sep 8, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hits from the 50s
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SWR Classic on Feb 10, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo