Wolfgang Neumann (born 20 June 1945) is an Austrian internationally known

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic heldentenor, who specialized in the operas of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

Career

Born in Waiern, part of Feldkirchen in Kärnten, Austria, he began his career as a

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 ...

, but following a period of transition, he made his debut as a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, 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 lo ...

in 1971 at Bielefeld Opera as Max in ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

''. From 1980, Neumann was the first heldentenor of the

National Theatre Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre (german: Nationaltheater Mannheim) is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18 ...

. He appeared at Munich, Hamburg, Vienna ( Staatsoper), Brussels, Oslo, Berlin ( Deutsche Oper), Lisbon, Barcelona (as Aron in '' Moses und Aron''), Dallas, Chile, Monte-Carlo, Bologna, Marseilles, Catania, and Florence. Neumann also appeared 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 ...

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 ...

(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 ...

'', 1995), Paris Opéra, 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 Op ...

, and

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

(''Die Frau ohne Schatten'', in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's production, 1986). In 1985, Neumann recorded the role of Jim Mahoney in ''

Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny ''Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' (german: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, links=no) is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed on 9 March 1930 at the i ...

'' (opposite Anja Silja, and conducted by Jan Latham Koenig, for Capriccio), and, in 1994-95, recorded the name part in ''Siegfried'' (for Bella Musica). In 1998, he made his debut at 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 ...

in the title role of ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'', with Sir

Donald McIntyre Sir Donald Conroy McIntyre (born 22 October 1934 in Auckland) is an operatic bass-baritone from New Zealand. Operatic career McIntyre made his formal debut as Zaccaria in ''Nabucco'', at the Welsh National Opera, in 1959. In 1964 he created ...

, and James Levine conducting. That same year, he sang Siegfried in '' Götterdämmerung'', and returned in that role for complete versions of '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (2000). In 2001, he sang in '' Intolleranza 1960'', in Bremen (which was recorded, then released on a Compact Disc in 2012), and returned to the Met for performances (one of which was televised) of the Drum Major in ''

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama ''Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at h ...

'', and the next year sang Ägisth in '' Elektra'', which were his final performances in New York. Also in Neumann's repertoire were the roles of

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi ...

, Erik ('' Der fliegende Holländer''), Lohengrin, Loge, Siegmund,

Tristan Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...

, Parsifal, Hermann ('' Pique dame''), Canio (''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

''), Herod (''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

''), the Kaiser (''

Die Frau ohne Schatten ' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the ...

''), and Bacchus ('' Ariadne auf Naxos''). The heldentenor bid farewell to the stage on 30 July 2010 at Mannheim in ''Götterdämmerung''.

Videography

* Berg: ''Wozzeck'' (Dalayman, Struckmann, Devlin; Levine, Lamos, 2001) iveMetropolitan Opera

External links

Wolfgang Neumann in an excerpt from ''Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny''
(audio only, 1985), on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Sources

*Cummings, David (ed.)
"Neumann, Wolfgang"
''International Who's Who in Music'', Routledge, 200, p. 465. * Liner notes to ''Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny'', Capriccio, 1988. {{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Wolfgang Austrian operatic tenors Heldentenors 1945 births Living people People from Feldkirchen in Kärnten