Markus Schäfer (born 13 June 1961) is a German lyric tenor, a soloist in opera, oratorio, and ''

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

''. He has performed with major opera houses and with the ensemble La Petite Bande. He has been a professor of voice at the

Musikhochschule Hannover 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 ...

Career

Born in Andernach, Schäfer grew up in

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) Bad E ...

where his father was church musician. Schäfer studied singing with Armand McLane. He studied sacred music in Düsseldorf and Karlsruhe. He made his operatic debut with the Zurich ''Opernstudio'' and later joined the ensemble of the Zurich Opera, then the ''

Hamburgische Staatsoper The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Genera ...

'' and until 1993 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 ...

''. As a freelance singer, he performed Lied and concerts, including at major festivals. He has been a professor of voice at the

since 2008. Schäfer has performed with the ensemble La Petite Bande, conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken, in concerts and recordings of Bach cantatas and in works by Mozart, as Ferrando 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 ...

'', Ottavio in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' and taking the tenor part of the

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

. He is a regular soloist with the boys' choir

Windsbacher Knabenchor The Windsbacher Knabenchor (Windsbach Boys' Choir) is a German boys' choir in Windsbach, Germany, founded in 1946 and performing internationally. History The choir was founded in 1946 by Hans Thamm and was conducted by Karl-Friedrich Beringer from ...

, beginning in 1989 with the tenor part in Mozart's

for the funeral of the assassinated

Alfred Herrhausen Alfred Herrhausen (30 January 1930 in Essen – 30 November 1989 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe) was a German banker and the Chairman of Deutsche Bank, who was assassinated in 1989. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group a ...

. He is lead tenor in the ensemble ''Liedertafel'' of four male singers and pianist Gerold Huber. His recording of Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' with

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...

won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. In 2014, Schäfer appeared in a performance of

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

's oratorio ''Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu'', celebrating the composer's birth in 1714 as "C.P.E. Bach: 300th Birthday". Hermann Max conducted the

Rheinische Kantorei The Rheinische Kantorei is a German vocal ensemble of baroque music accompanied by an instrumental ensemble called Das Kleine Konzert. History The Rheinische Kantorei and Das Kleine Konzert were founded in 1977 by the German conductor Hermann M ...

and the Kleine Konzert, with soloists Veronika Winter (soprano),

Matthias Vieweg Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

(bass) and Hannes Rux (trumpet), at Eberbach Abbey, as part of the

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

. A review noted his pleasantly lyrical timbre and precise coloraturas. He recorded in 2017, with the pianist Siegfried Mauser, three song cycles by Wilhelm Killmayer, one based on late poems by Friedrich Hölderlin, two on poems by Georg Trakl.

Selected recordings

* Secular Bach cantatas, ''Angenehmes Wiederau'', BWV 30a and ''Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten'', BWV 207, conducted by

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

* As Midas in ''Der Streit zwischen Phoebus und Pan'', conducted by Hans-Jörg Albrecht * Mozart: Zaide, conducted by

Martin Haselböck Martin Haselböck (born 23 November 1954, Vienna, Austria) is the Austrian musical director of Musica Angelica in Long Beach, California, United States, and the musical director and founder of the Orchester Wiener Akademie. He is also a professor a ...

* Beethoven: Symphonies, conducted by Jos Van Immerseel

Career

Selected recordings

References

External links