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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Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin op. 25, D 795
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Aug. 30, 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245
Karl Forster, Berliner Symphoniker, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Fritz Wunderlich, Elisabeth Grümmer
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Feb. 16, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich - Große Erfolge & Raritäten, Vol. 13
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Documents 2 on Dec. 13, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vocal Recital: Wunderlich, Fritz - SCHUMANN, R. / SCHUBERT, F. / BEETHOVEN, L. van (Schwetzinger Festspiele Edition, 1965)
Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SWR Classic on Jan. 1, 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WUNDERLICH: Sacred Songs
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by SWR Classic on Jan. 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich - Beethoven / Haydn / Strauss, R.
Fritz Wunderlich, Heinrich Schmidt, Walter Weller, Ludwig Beinl, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Jan Koetsier
Classical - Released by Decca Imports One Way on Jan. 1, 1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich: Arias from the 20th Century (Live)
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on Jun. 14, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Schubert - Lieder
Orquesta Lírica de Barcelona, Fritz Wunderlich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Classical - Released by Piros Comercial Digital on Mar. 21, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich Arias
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Musical Concepts on Mar. 13, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich - Die frühen Jahre
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on Sep. 23, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legend
Opera - Released by Profil on Jan. 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich sings Christmas Songs
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Dec. 8, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Contemporaries
Opera - Released by SWR Classic on May 11, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich, Vol. 7
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on Dec. 13, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on Dec. 13, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert : La Belle Meunière (Fritz Wunderlich, ténor (Les Chanteurs légendaires - Volume 1))
Classical - Released by Ars Produktion on Jan. 23, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thomas: Mignon
Pilar Lorengar, Fritz Wunderlich, Gottlob Frick
Classical - Released by Past Classics on Nov. 6, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Cantates, BWV 31 & 200 (Mono Version)
Fritz Wunderlich, Stuttgarter Bach-Orchester, Marcel Couraud
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Festive Arias (Live)
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on Sep. 9, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fritz Wunderlich : Rarities from Opera and Operetta
Opera - Released by SWR Classic on Jan. 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo