Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or kings, when it was styled ''Hofkammersänger(in)'', where ''Hof'' refers to the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

. The title is given in Germany and in Austria usually on the recommendation of relevant national and local institutions. In

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, some concert halls bestowed this designation. Similar titles are , Staatsschauspieler, , , and Kammerkomponist/Kammerkompositeur.

Titles and recipients

Austria

;Österreichischer Kammersänger / Österreichische Kammersängerin The honorary title is awarded by the Federal

President of Austria The president of Austria () is the head of state of the Austria, Republic of Austria. The office of the president was established in 1920 by the Constituent National Assembly (Austria), Constituent National Assembly of the First Austrian Repu ...

on the proposal of the responsible Federal Minister since 1971. *

Germany

* Elise Kutscherra de Nyss (Coburg, 1894) * Gerhard Unger (1952) *

Theo Adam Theo Adam (1 August 1926 – 10 January 2019) was a German operatic bass-baritone and bass singer who had an international career in opera, concert and recital from 1949. He was a member of the Staatsoper Dresden for his entire career, and s ...

(1955) * Anny Schlemm (Frankfurt, 1963) * Sigrid Kehl (Leipzig, 1963) * Hans-Dieter Bader (Hanover, 1981) * Alfred Vökt (Frankfurt, 1989) * (Frankfurt, 1993) * Axel Köhler (Halle, 1998) * Klaus Schneider (Karlsruhe, 2003) * Linda Watson (Düsseldorf, 2004) * Doris Soffel (Cologne, 2007) * Hans-Otto Weiß (Mainz, 2010) * Winfrid Mikus (Heidelberg, 2011) * Roland Hartmann (Meiningen, 2011) * Romelia Lichtenstein (Halle, 2012) * Hannes Brock (Dortmund, 2012) * Jörg Sabrowski (Kiel, 2012) * Thomas de Vries (Wiesbaden, 2014) * Jochen Kupfer (Nürnberg, 2016) * Thomas Jesatko (Mannheim, 2016) * (Erfurt, 2017) * Jeffrey Dowd (Essen, 2019) * Claudia Mahnke (Frankfurt, 2021) * Christina Clark (Essen, 2022) * Marie-Helen Joël (Essen, 2022) * Rainer Maria Röhr (Essen, 2022) * Wilfried Staber (Heidelberg, 2022) * Morgan Moody (Dortmund, 2023) * (Hanover, 2023) * Frank Schneiders (Hanover, 2023) * Jürgen Rust (Mainz) * Wilma Schmidt (Hanover)

Berlin

;Berliner Kammersänger / Berliner Kammersängerin The honorary title has been given by the

Senate of Berlin The Senate of Berlin (; unofficially: ) is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the Constitution of Berlin the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to ten ...

since 1962. In the reunified Berlin, from 1990 to 2010, 17 singers have received this honor. *

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, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...

(1963) * Sieglinde Wagner (1963) * Sylvia Geszty (1968) * Peter Lagger (1970) * Erika Köth (1970) * Ingvar Wixell (1970) * Barry McDaniel (1970) * Vera Little (1970) * Gundula Janowitz (1974) * José van Dam (1974) * Karl-Josef Hering (1975) * Catarina Ligendza (1976) * Siegfried Lorenz (1979) * (1983) * Uta Priew (1984) * Jochen Kowalski (1994) * Karan Armstrong (1994) *

Matti Salminen Matti Kalervo Salminen (born 7 July 1945) is a Finnish operatic bass, now retired, who has sung at the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan and Bayreuth Festival. He is distinguished by an imposing figure a ...

(1995) * (1995) * (1998) * René Pape (2000) * Roman Trekel (2000) * (2001) * Christiane Oertel (2003) * Clemens Bieber (2010) * Reinhard Hagen (2010) *

Lenus Carlson Lenus (; E. Courtney (1995) reads the original dative form as in ''Musa Lapidaria: A Selection of Latin Verses'' 160, p. 152. agrees with dative in the following line.) was a Celtic god of healing, good fortune, and protection in battle, ...

(2010) * Michaela Kaune (2011) * Brigitte Geller (2012) * Peter Renz (2012) * Jens Larsen (2013) * Peter Seiffert (2014) * Dorothea Röschmann (2016) * Victor von Halem (2016) * Kwangchul Youn (2018) * Karolina Gumos (2022) * (2022) * Caren van Oijen (2022) * Tom Erik Lie (2022) * Evelyn Lear * Ernst Haefliger * * Werner Enders * Erich Witte * Celestina Casapietra

Bavaria

;Bayerischer Kammersänger / Bayerische Kammersängerin Final curtain call Parsifal Bayerische Staatsoper July 2018

The title has been awarded by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture since 1955 for outstanding artistic achievements to singing soloists of 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

Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (; State Theatre at ), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) Designed by , ...

and the Staatstheater Nürnberg. , more than 130 artists have been honoured. The prerequisite is at least five years of membership in an ensemble at a state theater or regular guest appearances. *

Gottlob Frick Gottlob Frick (28 July 1906 – 18 August 1994) was a German operatic bass. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles. Some of his most celebrated roles were Wagnerian villains such as Hunding and Hagen in ''Der Ring ...

(1954) * Hans Hotter (1955) * Erika Köth (1955) * Hertha Töpper (1955) *

Leonie Rysanek Leopoldine Rysanek (14 November 1926 – 7 March 1998), known professionally as Leonie Rysanek, was an Austrian dramatic soprano. Life Rysanek was born in Vienna as one of six children of a Czech father and an Austrian mother. She entered t ...

(1956) *

(1959) *

Fritz Wunderlich Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35. Biography Wunde ...

(1962) * Kieth Engen (1962) * Lisa della Casa (1963) * Inge Borkh (1963) *

Astrid Varnay Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading Wagnerian heroic soprano ...

(1963) * Karl-Christian Kohn * Ingeborg Hallstein (1968) * Birgit Nilsson (1970) *

Brigitte Fassbaender Brigitte Fassbaender (; born 3 July 1939), is a German mezzo-soprano opera singer and a stage director. From 1999 to 2012 she was Theater manager, intendant (managing director) of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, Austria. She holds the ti ...

(1970) * Gisela Ehrensperger (1974) * Wolfgang Brendel (1976) * Hermann Winkler (1977) *

Kurt Moll Kurt Moll (11 April 19385 March 2017) was a German operatic bass singer who enjoyed a widely renowned international career. His voice was notable for its range, a true basso profondo, including full, resonant low and very-low notes with relaxed ...

(1979) * Júlia Várady (1979) * Willi Brokmeier (1980) *

Edith Mathis Edith Mathis (; 11 February 19389 February 2025) was a Swiss soprano known for her roles in List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart's operas. Early in her career, Cherubino in ''Le nozze di Figaro'' was her signature role that she perf ...

(1980) *

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

(1981) * Lucia Popp (1983) *

Hildegard Behrens Hildegard Behrens (9 February 1937 – 18 August 2009) was a German operatic soprano with a wide repertoire including Wagner, Weber, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg roles. She performed at major opera houses around the world, and receiv ...

(1987) * Helen Donath (1988) * Edita Gruberova (1989) * Peter Seiffert (1992) * Waltraud Meier (1996) * Ann Murray (1998) *

Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy *Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England * ...

(2003) * Gabriele Schnaut (2003) *

(2003) * Vesselina Kasarova (2005) * Anja Harteros (2007) * Diana Damrau (2007) * Anne Lünenbürger (2008) * Frances Pappas (2008) * Jonas Kaufmann (2013) * Wolfgang Koch (2014) * Christian Gerhaher (2015) * Jochen Kupfer (2016) * Anja Kampe (2018) * Alex Esposito (2020) * Marlis Petersen (2021) * Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (2021) * (2021) * (2021) * (2021) * Bo Skovhus (2022) *

Nina Stemme Nina Maria Stemme (born Thöldte, 11 May 1963) is a Swedish dramatic soprano opera singer. Stemme "is regarded by today's opera fans as our era's greatest Wagnerian soprano". In 2010, Michael Kimmelman wrote of one of Stemme's performances in ...

(2022) * (2023) * Martin Hausberg (2024) * Gerald Finley (2024) * (2024) *

Benno Kusche Benno Paul Kusche (30 January 1916 – 14 May 2010) was a German operatic baritone, who was praised as one of the best Mozart and Wagner singers, especially in character roles and opera buffa. Career Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Kusche was the ...

Hamburg

;Hamburger Kammersänger / Hamburger Kammersängerin Since 1961, the title has been given by the Hamburg Senate. , it has been awarded 28 times since 1928. * Toni Blankenheim (1961) * Helga Pilarczyk * Ursula Boese (1969) *

(1975) *

(1975) * Franz Grundheber (1986) * Heinz Kruse (1988) * Harald Stamm (1988) *

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

(1989) * Bernd Weikl (1993) * Gabriele Schnaut (1995) * Andreas Schmidt (1997) * (2011) * Gabriele Rossmanith (2011) * Andrzej Dobber (2015) * (2017) * (2017) * (2017) * Klaus Florian Vogt (2019) * (2024) * Olga Peretyatko (2024) * Christoph Pohl (2024) * Alexander Tsymbalyuk (2024)

Saxony

;Sächsischer Kammersänger / Sächsische Kammersängerin The title has been for members of the ensembles of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the Landesbühnen Sachsen since 1998. * (1985) * Evelyn Herlitzius (2002) * Camilla Nylund (2008) * Georg Zeppenfeld (2015) * Christa Mayer (2020) * Günther Leib

Baden-Württemberg

;Baden-Württembergischer Kammersänger / Baden-Württembergische Kammersängerin *

Reinhold Fritz Reinhold Fritz (16 March 1884 – 30 October 1950) was a German operatic bass-baritone. He was engaged at the Stuttgart Court Opera for 25 years and was awarded the title Kammersänger. He performed a broad repertoire of both serious and comic r ...

(1917) * Marga Höffgen (1976) * (1977) * Karan Armstrong (1985) * Hans Rössling (1988) * Erich Syri (1989) * (1993) * (1996) * Paata Burchuladze (1998) * (2001) * Simone Schneider (2016) *

Yuko Kakuta Yuko may refer to: * Yuko (judo) (''yūkō''), a score in judo competition * Yuko (Ukrainian band), a Ukrainian band * Yūko, a Japanese female given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Yuko, a Belgium, Belgian band * Yuko people, a ...

(2016) * Liang Li (2016) * Torsten Hofmann (2016) * Diana Haller (2021) * Adam Palka (2021) *

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

(2022) * Wolfgang Windgassen * Fritz Schaetzler

Sweden and Denmark

The equivalent designation in Sweden and Denmark are respectively '' hovsångare'' (male) or ''hovsångerska'' (female) and '' kongelige kammersangere''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kammersanger Music of Austria Music of Germany Opera terminology German words and phrases