Fritz Wunderlich

1930 Born on September 26 in Kusel, Palatinate, the second child of musician couple Paul Edmund and Anna Wunderlich. After his father's death (1935), he supported his mother financially from a young age by regularly playing dance music (accordion, French horn). 1947/48 First appearances with the Kulturring theater group in Kusel: Christmas fairy tales, operetta concerts, Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel (Peter). 1950–55 Studied at the Freiburg University of Music: voice with Margarete von Winterfeldt, horn with Lothar Leonards, piano with Friedrich Finke. He financed his studies by playing dance music. 1952/53 First engagements: Bach's Christmas Oratorio in Esslingen, lieder recitals and concerts in the Palatinate. 1953/54 First radio recordings: operetta songs for SWF Kaiserslautern (conductor: Emmerich Smola). 1954 Role debut as Tamino in a Freiburg university performance of The Magic Flute. 1955 Engaged as a lyric tenor at the Württemberg State Theatres in Stuttgart by Walter Erich Schäfer. Debut at the Summer Music Days in Hitzacker in Monteverdi's Orfeo under the direction of August Wenziger; subsequently, a recording of the performance by Archiv Produktion of Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. On September 30, stage debut in Stuttgart: Eisslinger in Wagner's Meistersinger. 1956 Stepped in for Josef Traxel as Tamino in The Magic Flute. Premiere of Orff's Antigone (director: Wieland Wagner, conductor: Ferdinand Leitner). During rehearsals for Antigone, he met harpist Eva Jungnitsch, whom he married a few months later. Exclusive contract with the European Phono-Club Stuttgart: opera excerpts and song recordings, as well as recordings of Bach cantatas under the pseudonym Werner S. Braun. 1957 Birth of his first child (Konstanze). Staged performance of Handel's Jephta (director: Günther Rennert). Stuttgart guest performance at the XX. Biennale in Venice with Egk's opera Der Revisor, role debut as Ferrando in Così fan tutte. Debut at the Bavarian State Opera Munich (Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail). 1958 First international festival summer: debuts in Aix-en-Provence (The Magic Flute) and Edinburgh (Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Der Wildschütz; Stuttgart guest performance). In Stuttgart, among others, Rossini's Barber in a new production by Günther Rennert. Record contract with EMI Electrola. 1959 WDR Cologne: Handel's Alcina with Joan Sutherland. Birth of his second child (Wolfgang). International breakthrough: debut at the Salzburg Festival as Henry in Richard Strauss's Die Schweigsame Frau (director: Günther Rennert, conductor: Karl Böhm, title role: Hilde Güden). Debut at the Vienna State Opera (The Magic Flute under Böhm). German premiere of Janáček's Brouček in Munich, world premiere of Orff's Oedipus der Tyrann in Stuttgart. TV broadcast of Rossini's Barber from the Munich Cuvilliés Theatre (Prey, Köth, Hotter, Proebstl; Keilberth). 1960 Moved from Stuttgart to Munich. Mozart Requiem under Herbert von Karajan in Berlin. Don Giovanni in Cologne (Prey, Grümmer; Sawallisch). Vienna Festival Weeks: Beethoven's Ninth under Otto Klemperer, Mahler's Lied von der Erde under Karajan and Mahler's Eighth under Keilberth. Salzburg Festival: The Magic Flute under Keilberth. Stuttgart: Verdi Requiem under Hans Müller-Kray, role debut as Alfred in Die Fledermaus. 1961 Munich: New production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale with Kurt Böhme. Stuttgart: Günther Rennert stages Rossini's Il Turco in Italia. Hamburg: St. Matthew Passion under Keilberth. London: Mahler's Lied von der Erde with Christa Ludwig under Klemperer. Salzburg: Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Munich Festival: Don Giovanni with George London. Debut at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires: Die Schweigsame Frau with Ingeborg Hallstein and Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Anneliese Rothenberger. Munich: New production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (Prey, Bremert, Fassbaender, Yahia; Keilberth). 1962 First lieder recital in Vienna. St. Matthew Passion under Böhm in the Vienna Musikvereinssaal. Hamburg: Don Giovanni (London, Grümmer; Schmidt-Isserstedt). Munich: New production of Die Schweigsame Frau with Ingeborg Hallstein. Complete recording of Handel's Xerxes for Bavarian Radio. TV broadcast of Eugene Onegin. 1963 Extensive guest contract with the Vienna State Opera. TV production of Pergolesi's Il Maestro di Musica in the Schönbrunn Palace Theatre. Munich: First lieder recital, Bach's St. Matthew Passion under Karl Richter. Intensive work on lieder interpretation with Hubert Giesen. Paris: Stuttgart guest performance with Orff's Oedipus der Tyrann. Lieder recital at the Theater an der Wien with Heinrich Schmidt. Guest on Robert Lembke's Was bin ich?. New production of Don Giovanni in Vienna (Wächter, Price, Güden, Berry, Sciutti, Panerai; Karajan). Cancellation of various engagements (including Salzburg Festival) due to a maxillary sinus operation. TV production of Egk's Columbus (BR). New production of La Traviata in Stuttgart (title role: Ruth-Margret Pütz). Reopening of the Munich National Theatre: Wunderlich sings in the world premiere of Egk's Die Verlobung in San Domingo. 1964 Exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Recording of Die schöne Müllerin for SDR. Vienna: St. Matthew Passion under Richter, Capriccio duets with Lucia Popp, Rosenkavalier appearances alongside Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Sena Jurinac, Frau ohne Schatten premiere under Karajan (Rysanek, Thomas, Ludwig, Berry, Hoffman), Daphne premiere under Böhm (Güden, King, Schöffler). Birth of his third child (Barbara). Five concerts with Mahler's Lied von der Erde (Fischer-Dieskau; Keilberth). Lieder recital tour with Hubert Giesen. Berlin: Complete recording of The Magic Flute under Böhm. Outcry against the new Magic Flute in Munich (director: Harry Buckwitz). Role debut as Palestrina in Vienna (director: Hans Hotter, conductor: Robert Heger). TV production Daphne (Woytowicz, King, Frick; Keilberth). 1965 Munich: Production of the record albums Welterfolge großer Tenöre and Du bist die Welt für mich (Polydor), new production of La Traviata with Teresa Stratas and Hermann Prey. London: Don Giovanni (Wächter, Lorengar; Kempe). Salzburg: Giorgio Strehler's new production of Die Entführung (Rothenberger, Grist, Unger, Corena; Mehta), lieder recital with Hubert Giesen, Haydn's Creation under Karajan. Vienna: In Wieland Wagner's new production of Salome with Anja Silja, Wunderlich sings Narraboth. Munich: Complete recordings of Die Entführung (Köth, Böhme; Jochum) and Christmas Oratorio (Janowitz, Ludwig, Crass; Richter). 1966 Berlin: Recordings under Karajan (Beethoven's Missa solemnis and parts of Haydn's Creation), The Magic Flute at the Deutsche Oper, lieder recital. Vienna: New production of Rossini's Barber under Böhm, recordings of Viennese songs under Robert Stolz. Munich: A new Magic Flute at the Cuvilliés Theatre (Rothenberger, Prey, Crass; Dohnányi). Salzburg: Revival of Die Entführung. Edinburgh Festival: The Magic Flute. 4.9.1966 Last lieder recital (Usher Hall, Edinburgh). 17.9.1966 Wunderlich dies as a result of an accident. 07/2005