
Baritone Christian Gerhaher had a meteoric rise after his 1998
victory in the New York/Paris-shared Prix International Pro
Musicis. Gerhaher subsequently developed a major career on both the
operatic and recital stages. His repertory takes in J.S. Bach
cantatas and oratorios; operas by Mozart, von Weber, and Wagner;
lieder by Schubert, Brahms, and Mahler; and concert works by Haydn,
Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Mahler. But he has hardly restricted
himself to the German sphere, having performed Orff's Carmina
Burana, Britten's War Requiem, Monteverdi's Orfeo, and much else.
Gerhaher possesses a very distinct, attractive voice, a bit higher
in the baritone range than is usual. He has performed at many of
the major recital halls and operatic venues, and with an extensive
list of conductors that includes Harnoncourt, Rattle, Muti, Colin
Davis, Marriner, Pinnock, Herreweghe, Inbal, and Conlon. Gerhaher's
résumé, apart from his considerable musical activity, is
impressive: he holds a doctorate degree in medicine and has
extensively studied philosophy. Christian Gerhaher was born in the
Bavarian city of Straubing on July 24, 1969. His major educational
activity was in Munich: he studied voice with Paul Kuen and Raimund
Grumbach and enrolled at the Musikhochschule Opera School there,
simultaneously studying medicine and philosophy. Gerhaher later
took master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf. For Gerhaher, 1998 was a pivotal year: he obtained his
medical degree, won the Prix International Pro Musicis, and joined
the Stadttheater Würzburg, remaining a member until 2000.
Meanwhile, he began making critically acclaimed appearances in
lieder repertory with pianist Gerold Huber, including at Carnegie
Hall, the Schubertiade in Feldkirch, and Wigmore Hall in London.
Gerhaher quickly built a reputation in opera as well: his 2005
performance at the Frankfurt Opera in the title role of Orfeo drew
rave notices. In the following season, Gerhaher appeared in
Schubert's opera Alphonso und Estrella in Berlin and Schumann's
oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri in Munich. Gerhaher's 2007-2008
schedule included a highly acclaimed North American tour with
pianist Gerold Huber. Gerhaher's later recordings include the 2008
CD on Hänssler Classics of Britten's War Requiem, with conductor
Helmuth Rilling leading the Stuttgart Festival Ensemble. As
Gerhaher entered middle age and his voice deepened somewhat, he
took on operatic roles such as Wolfram in Wagner's Tannhäuser,
which he performed at London's Covent Garden in 2010 and reprised
at the Bavarian State Opera in 2017. His performances of Mahler's
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Kindertotenlieder deepened his
relationship with Huber, which was displayed to fine effect in
their 2017 recording of the unusual Brahms song set Die schöne
Magelone, Op. 33. Nevertheless, the bulk of Gerhaher's recording
energies in the 2010s have continued to focus on the lieder
repertory. His 2012 album, Ferne Geliebte, featuring not only the
Beethoven cycle An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98, but also songs by
Haydn, Schoenberg, and Berg, inaugurated a multi-year relationship
with the Sony Classical label that has also produced Nachtviolen (a
Schubert song recital) and an album of Mozart arias. Gerhaher
teaches at Munich's Hochschule für Musik. ~ Robert Cummings &
James Manheim