Lorenz Fehenberger (24 August 1912 – 29 July 1984) was a German operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

, particularly associated with the German and Italian repertories. Fehenberger was born in Oberweidach,

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

, and began singing as a boy in a church choir, later studying voice with Elisabeth Wolff in Munich. He made his stage debut in Graz, as the Italian singer in ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...

'', in 1939. He then sang at the Staatsoper Dresden from 1941 to 1945, and made his debut at the Munich State Opera in 1946. He sang regularly at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

between 1949 and 1962, where he created the role of Haemon in

Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl ...

's ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

''. He also sang at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

(1951–52). He made guest appearances in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, also appearing at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

in Buenos Aires (1951), and the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in London (1953). Fehenberger was much admired as

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of 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 first appears in Wolf ...

and Walther, but also gained considerable acclaim in Italian roles such as Duke of Mantua, Riccardo, Alvaro,

Radames Radames or Radamés is a Hispanic masculine given name that may refer to *Radamés Gnattali (1906–1988), Brazilian composer, conductor, orchestrator, and arranger *Radamés González (born 1956), Cuban marathon runner * Radamés Martins Rodrigues ...

, Pinkerton, Cavaradossi, as well as Bizet's Don Jose. He was also active as a recitalist, often appearing in

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

, Handel, and

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

. He died in Munich at age 71.

Selected recordings

* ''Lohengrin'' – Lorenz Fehenberger,

Annelies Kupper Annelies Kupper (21 July 1906 – 8 December 1987), was a German operatic soprano, particularly associated with Mozart and the German repertory. Kupper was born at Glatz (now Kłodzko) in Lower Silesia. She studied in Breslau and was a music te ...

, Helena Braun, Ferdinand Frantz, Otto Von Rohr – Bavarian Radio Chorus and Orchestra,

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 ...

(Conductor) –

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

(1953) * ''Ein Maskenball'' – Lorenz Fehenberger, Walburga Wagner,

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...

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 ...

, Anny Schlemm – with the

Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra The WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (German: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln) is a German radio orchestra based in Cologne, where the orchestra mainly performs at two concert halls: the WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz and the Kölner Philharmonie. Histor ...

and the Cologne Radio Choir,

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...

(Conductor) – Gala (1951) (Cat. 100.509)

External links

Biography on Operissimo.com
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fehenberger, Lorenz 1912 births 1984 deaths People from Upper Bavaria German operatic tenors 20th-century German male opera singers