Heiner Hopfner (28 June 1941 in

Mitterteich Mitterteich (Northern Bavarian: ''Miederdeich'') is a municipality in the district of Tirschenreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km northwest of Tirschenreuth, and 17 km southwest of Cheb. Notable people * Theobald Schrems ( ...

– 31 August 2014) was a German opera, lied and concert singer as well as a singing teacher in the tenor vocal range.

Career

At the age of eight, Heiner Hopfner joined the

Regensburger Domspatzen The Regensburger Domspatzen (literally: Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows) is the cathedral choir at the Regensburg Cathedral in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. The boys' choir dates back to 975, and consists of boys and young men only. They perform i ...

. After graduating from high school in 1962 at the Deutschen Gymnasium in Amberg, he studied singing at the Musikhochschule München and pedagogy at the

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

in Munich. During his three-year traineeship he won several international prizes and devoted himself increasingly to his career as an opera, lieder and concert singer. Afterwards he sang on the big German-speaking music stages, among others at 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 ...

, and many Lied and concert evenings led him to the big national and international concert halls. In the late 1970s he was the leading tenor of the Staatstheater Kassel. The singer has worked with conductors such as

Eugen Jochum Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others. Biography Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...

, Karl Richter,

Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970), the Internationale Bachakademie ...

, Georg Solti and

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

to name but a few. Heiner Hopfner taught singing at the

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

in Salzburg. His students included,

Christiane Karg Christiane Karg (born 6 August 1980) is a German operatic soprano. The award-winning singer became known for performing Mozart roles at the Salzburg Festival, and made an international career. Career Born in Feuchtwangen, Bavaria, Karg studied ...

Joel Montero, , etc. He was also a jury member of the International Mozart Competition. Heiner Hopfner died on 31 August 2014 at the age of 73.

Discography (selection)

* J. S. Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium, Label: Archiv 2723057 * Kantaten und Lieder zur Weihnacht, Label: Christophorus Entrée 1994 * Der Vampir, Label: Opera d'Oro 2005 * Karl Ditter von Dittersdorf, Label: Ars Nusici 2009

References

External links

Biography at Mozarteum

Archives of Regensburg Cathedral Choir 1958-1963 Heiner Hopfner sings ''Es Blüh'n Drei Rosen''
on YouTube * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopfner, Heiner German operatic tenors Musicians from Bavaria 1941 births 2014 deaths