Ennio Morricone once said that he was actually a concert composer – film music was just a side hustle. But the name Ennio Morricone is …
Franco Corelli: He saw notes in his dreams
The name Franco Corelli is often mentioned in the same breath as Fritz Wunderlich: Both are considered the most important tenors of the 20th century …
Montserrat Caballé: The Spanish Opera Diva (2.)
Continued from part one At the beginning of the seventies, Montserrat Caballé was faced with probably the greatest artistic challenge of her career: opera connoisseurs …
Montserrat Caballé: The Spanish Opera Diva (1.)
She was one of the few opera singers who became known beyond their genre: Not only was she an opera diva, Caballé became known to …
Luciano Pavarotti: Opera star & Pop star
He was one of the most famous tenors of all time: Luciano Pavarotti. One of his childhood friends was the soprano Mirella Freni, who later …
The music of the James Bond movies
It was actually an accident: English composer Monty Norman was entrusted with composing the score for the first Bond film, Dr. No, in 1962. John …
Mirella Freni: The Magic of a Voice
She was considered Herbert von Karajan’s favorite singer, was a friend of Maria Callas, and grew up with Luciano Pavarotti: Mirella Freni.
Fritz Wunderlich: The Century Tenor (4.)
It was in June 1963 that Fritz Wunderlich caused a small scandal in his hometown Kusel: In a television broadcast, Wunderlich referred to his home town of Kusel as “a little nest in the Palatinate.” The people of Kusel took this as an insult – it took less than 24 hours for Fritz Wunderlich to learn of the uproar…
Fritz Wunderlich: The Century Tenor (3.)
At the end of January 1960, Fritz Wunderlich met Herbert von Karajan for the first time: in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wunderlich earned the praise of the Berlin press:
Fritz Wunderlich: The Century Tenor (2.)
The Freiburg Academy of Music, where Fritz studied from 1950 on, had only been founded shortly after the end of the war. At first Fritz was not sure whether he could make a living with singing. In the first three semesters, Wunderlich concentrated primarily on studying the horn.