Günter Wewel (; 29 November 19349 May 2023) was a German operatic bass and television presenter. Based at the

Opernhaus Dortmund Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. A new opera house opened in 1966, replacing an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War II. It was built o ...

for decades, he performed 80 roles in Germany and Europe. He is known for presenting the television series , with more than 150 episodes from 1989 to 2007, which portrays regions in Europe, their landscape, people and folklore, the first such show filmed at the locations.

Early life

Wewel was born in

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; ) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Ho ...

. After school, he first trained as a civil servant with the

Deutsche Bundesbahn Deutsche Bundesbahn (, ) or DB () was formed as the state railway of the newly established West Germany (FRG) on 7 September 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). The DB remained the state railway of West Germany u ...

. He then studied voice, especially opera, at the Dortmund Conservatory. He studied further with Rudolf Watzke in Dortmund and Johannes Kobeck in Vienna.

Career

Wewel was a member of the Oper Dortmund from 1963, with

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

Wilhelm Schüchter Wilhelm Schüchter (15 December 1911 – 27 May 1974) was a German conductor. Between 1959 and 1962, he was the music director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and is credited for raising its standards to an international level. He was Gener ...

, and remained at the house throughout his career of more than 30 years. From 1965, he appeared as a guest in Germany at the

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

, the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) 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 ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

, the

Staatstheater Stuttgart The Staatstheater Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Theatre) is a theatre with three locations, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Stuttgart (Opera Stuttgart), Stuttgart Ballet, Stuttgarter Ballett (Stuttgart Ballet), and Schauspiel Stuttgart (Stuttgart Drama ...

, 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, t ...

, the

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the ...

and Staatstheater Hannover, among others. In Europe, he performed at the Budapest National Opera, in Paris, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Rouen, Salzburg and the

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. Wewel performed over 80 roles, including Mozart's Osmin in ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...

'', the Komtur in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full 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 Spanish legen ...

'' and Sarastro in ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', Rocco in Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'', Philipp II in Verdi's ''

Don Carlo ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'', Gremin in Tchaikovsky's '' Eugen Onegin'', Wagner's Daland in ''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner Conducting, conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hofthe ...

'', Heinrich in ''

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 Wo ...

'', Marke in ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...

'' and Titurel in ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

''. He also performed in

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s. In the mid-1980s, he performed as Landgrave Hermann in a complete recording of Wagner's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), 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 1265. His name ...

'' from the

Theater Saarbrücken Theater Saarbrücken, officially Saarländisches Staatstheater since 1971, is the state theatre of Saarland in its capital Saarbrücken, Germany. It has several divisions (opera, drama, dance, concert) and offers annually around 30 new production ...

. In 1989, he was awarded the title

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German Title of honor, honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was besto ...

. From 1989 to 2007, Wewel was the presenter of the musical entertainment television programme . The series ran at irregular intervals, with more than 150 episodes in total, and was produced by

Saarländischer Rundfunk (; "Saarland Broadcasting"), shortened to SR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster serving the German States of Germany, state of Saarland. With headquarters in the Halberg Broadcasting House in Saarbrücken, SR i ...

. Wewel took his guests to different regions of Europe and presented people, landscapes and customs. The musical part of the programme ranged from folklore typical for the region to hits, folk music and light classical music, to which Wewel often contributed songs. It was the first music programme on television filmed at the original locations and not in the studio. In addition to his opera work, he also recorded numerous

Volkslied Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also i ...

er.

Personal life and death

He was married to Gisela Wewel from 1959; she died on 20 September 2014 at age 76. Wewel died on 9 May 2023, at age 88.

Honours

* 1989:

* 1992:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* 1992:

Hermann-Löns-Medaille The Hermann-Löns-Medaille, awarded since 1974 in the categories platinum, gold, silver and bronze, is a prize of the magazine ''Das Neue Blatt'' from the Bauer Media Group, awarded for special merits in the field of popular music. The prize is na ...

* 1996:

Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia The Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia () is a civil Order (honour), order of merit, of the Germany, German States of Germany, State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia was founded on 11 March 1986. It is ...

. * 1999:

Goldene Europa Goldene Europa award is the oldest German Television award for artists and entertainers. It was awarded from 1968 to 2003. In the years 1989 and 2001, there were no ceremonies. Since 1981, the gala was broadcast on television. The original sculptu ...

* 1999: Ring of honour of his hometown

Recordings

Hits

Source: * 1979: "Ihr mögt den Rhein" ( Westfalenlied) * 1987: "" * 1987: "Müde kehrt ein Wandersmann zurück" * 1992: "Die wilde Jagd" * 1994: "" * 1998: "Auf auf, zum fröhlichen Jagen"

Albums

Source:

Opera

* Schumann: '' Das Paradies und die Peri'' * Mozart: ''

'' as 2. Geharnischter *

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

: ''Die beiden Pädagogen'' * Humperdinck: ''

Königskinder ' (German for ''King's Children'' or “Royal Children”) is a stage work by Engelbert Humperdinck that exists in two versions: as a melodrama and as an opera or more precisely a '' Märchenoper''. The libretto was written by Ernst Rosmer (pen n ...

'' * Wagner: ''

'' as Landgraf *

Norbert Schultze Norbert Arnold Wilhelm Richard Schultze (26 January 1911 in Braunschweig, Brunswick – 14 October 2002 in Bad Tölz) was a prolific Germany, German composer of Film score, film music and a member of the NSDAP and of Joseph Goebbels' staff dur ...

: ''Das kalte Herz''

Operetta

Wewel recorded some complete operettas, and excerpts conducted by

Heinz Wallberg Heinz Wallberg (16 March 192329 September 2004) was a German conductor. Wallberg was born in Herringen, Westphalia. He studied trumpet, violin and piano. He helped to support his family with his musical training after his father became unabl ...

and

Willi Boskovsky Willibald Karl Boskovsky (16 June 1909 – 21 April 1991) was an Austrian violinist and conductor, best known as the long-standing conductor of the Vienna New Year's Concert from 1955 to 1979. Biography Boskovsky was born in Vienna, and joined th ...

, alongside soprano

Anneliese Rothenberger Anneliese Rothenberger (19 June 192424 May 2010) was a German operatic soprano who had an active international performance career which spanned from 1942 to 1983. She specialized in the lyric coloratura soprano repertoire, and was particularly a ...

and baritone

Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and ...

, among others.Günter Wewel
Muziekweb 2023Franz von Suppé: Boccaccio
Bertelsmann * 1981 Millöcker: ''

Gasparone ''Gasparone'' is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker to a German libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée. The libretto was later revised by and . An amusing feature of the work is that the title character never appears and acts as ...

'' (excerpts) * 1982 Offenbach: '' Pariser Leben'' * 1987 Suppé: ''

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was s ...

'' as Checchio (excerpts) * 1984 Lehár: ''

Giuditta ''Giuditta'' is an operatic ' (German for ''musical comedy'') in five scenes, with music by Franz Lehár and a German libretto, by and Fritz Löhner-Beda. Scored for a large orchestra, it was Lehár's last and most ambitious work, written on a la ...

'' as MartiniLace, Ian
Franz Lehár (1870–1948) / Giuditta
musicweb-international.com November 2013 * 1987 Suppé: ''

'' as Checchio

Songs

* 1980: ''Wo man Bier trinkt'' – Songs for cheerful

drinking culture Drinking culture is the set of traditions, rituals, and social behaviors associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward Drinking#Alcoholic beverages, drinking vary around the worl ...

* 1989: ''Ein russisches Märchen'' – Die schönsten russischen Volkslieder * 1994: ''Kein schöner Land'' * 1998: ''Jagd- und Waldlieder'' * ''Wer die Heimat liebt'' – Die schönsten Heimatlieder Deutschlands

References

External links

* * * * , Mozart, ''

'' 1994,

National Theatre, Prague The National Theatre () is a historic opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wewel, Gunter 1934 births 2023 deaths German operatic basses German television presenters Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia People from Arnsberg