Eike Wilm Schulte (born 13 October 1939) is a German operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

. A member of the

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden ('Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden') is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. Known also as the ...

, from 1988 the

Bayerische Staatsoper The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

, he made an international career, singing more than 100 parts at major opera houses such as the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, and at festivals including the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

. He participated in several premieres of contemporary opera.

Career

Schulte was born in

Plettenberg Plettenberg (; Westphalian: ''Plettmert'') is a town in the Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Plettenberg is located to the west of the Sauerland hills. The highest elevation of the town area is in the ''Ebbegebir ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. He studied voice at the

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

, with

Josef Metternich Josef Metternich (2 June 1915, in Cologne – 21 February 2005, in Feldafing) was a German operatic baritone. Metternich also appeared at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

among others. He made his debut on stage at the

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, th ...

in 1966 as ''Sid'' in Benjamin Britten's ''

Albert Herring ''Albert Herring'', Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera ''The Rape of Lucretia''. The libretto, by Eric Cr ...

''. From 1969, Schulte was a member of the

Theater Bielefeld The Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld (Municipal stages Bielefeld) in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a ''Dreisparten Haus'' (three-department house), offering plays, music (opera, musical theatre), and ballet. The main per ...

, where he appeared as Papageno in Mozart's ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...

'', as Germont in ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' and in the leading part Alfred Ill in Gottfried von Einem's ''

Der Besuch der alten Dame ''The Visit'' (german: Der Besuch der alten Dame, English: ''The Visit of the Old Lady'') is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Synopsis An enormously wealthy older woman returns to her former hometown with a dreadf ...

'', opposite

Martha Mödl Martha Mödl (22 March 1912, Nuremberg – 17 December 2001, Stuttgart) was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano. She specialized in large dramatic roles such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, and particularly Kundry, and is considered, along with ...

in the title role. From 1973 to 1988 Schulte was a member of the

, where he sang major baritone parts, from Mozart (Guglielmo in ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'') to Wagner (Telramund in ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...

''), Marcel in Puccini's ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'', Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Mirakel in '' Hoffmanns Erzählungen'', alongside

Hermin Esser Hermin Esser (1 April 1928 – 17 April 2009) was a German operatic tenor who focused on roles by Richard Wagner, which he performed at the Bayreuth Festival and internationally. Career Born in Rheydt to a musical family, Esser was first a gr ...

in the title role,

Elizabeth Parcells Elizabeth Parcells (; December 28, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan – December 29, 2005 in Detroit, Michigan) was an American coloratura soprano. In the United States, she sang at the Michigan Opera Theater, the Boston Lyric Opera and The Washington (D. ...

as Olympia and

Gail Gilmore Gail Gilmore (born Gail Gerber, October 4, 1937 – March 2, 2014) was a Canadian television and film actress and ballet dancer. She was from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She was sometimes known as Gail Gibson. Dancing career In 1952, at age 15, ...

as Niklaus, and the pharao in Rossini's '' Mosè'', with

Nadine Secunde Nadine Secunde (born 21 December 1953) is an American operatic soprano. She studied and performed in Germany, singing at the Bayreuth Festival the leading parts of Elsa in '' Lohengrin'' and Sieglinde in ''Die Walküre'', and made an international ...

. He performed contemporary operas such as premieres by

Volker David Kirchner Volker David Kirchner (25 June 1942 – 4 February 2020) was a German composer and violist. After studies of violin and composition at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik Köln and the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, he w ...

. From 1988 he has been a member of the

. During his career, he sang more than a hundred different parts. Schulte appeared as a guest at the

, the

Teatro La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

, the

Gran Teatre del Liceu Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

, among others. He performed at the

, beginning in 1988 as the ''Heerrufer'' (The King's Herald) in ''

'', from 1992 as Wolfram von Eschenbach in ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...

'', and in 1998 he stepped in as Gunther in ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as p ...

'', singing but not acting. Throughout his career, he took part in contemporary opera, including premieres. In 1969, he sang in the premiere of

Giselher Klebe Giselher Wolfgang Klebe (28 June 19255 October 2009) was a German composer, and an academic teacher. He composed more than 140 works, among them 14 operas, all based on literary works, eight symphonies, 15 solo concerts, chamber music, piano w ...

's '' Das Märchen von der schönen Lilie'' at the

Schwetzingen Festival The Schwetzingen Festival (German: Schwetzinger Festspiele, now Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele) is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany. In 1952, the broadca ...

in the

Schlosstheater Schwetzingen Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (Schwetzingen palace theater) is a court theater in Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The historic building, opened in 1753, is part of Schloss Schwetzingen and since 1952 the principal venue of the Schwetzing ...

. He appeared in operas by Volker David Kirchner, as Henrik in ''Die Trauung'' in Wiesbaden in 1974, as Babel in ''Die fünf Minuten des Isaak Babel'' in

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...

in 1980, and as Ezechiel in ''Das kalte Herz'' in Wiesbaden in 1981. Schulte has appeared in recitals and concerts. He can be seen on video as the Heerrufer and as Beckmesser.Richard Wagner: ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' ''Deutsche Oper Berlin'' Opera d'Oro, catalog number OPD-112

Awards

Schulte is honorary member of the Hessisches Staatstheater. In 2008, he received the

Goethe-Plakette des Landes Hessen Goethe-Plakette (Goethe Plaque) is the highest award by the Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts of the federal state of Hesse, Germany, named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It has been awarded since 1949 at irregular intervals. The award ...

, the highest award of the

Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts The Hessian Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts (german: Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a Ministry of Education and Culture, university and culture ministry in Hesse, Germany. Since January 2019, the minis ...

Sources

Karl J. Kutsch Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and co-author with Leo Riemens of the ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers. Life and work Born in Gangelt, Kutsch studied me ...

and

Leo Riemens Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

: ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

''. Third edition. Munich 1999. Volume 4: Moffo–Seidel, pp. 3164/3165.

Career

Awards

Sources

References

External links