View source for Fritz Wunderlich

{{short description|German opera singer}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2023}}
[[File:Büste Fritz Wunderlich in Kusel, Benzino-Park.jpg|thumb|Bust of Fritz Wunderlich in Kusel]]
'''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 [[lied]]er. He died in an accident aged 35.

==Biography==
Wunderlich was born in [[Kusel]] in the [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]], Germany. His mother was a violinist and his father was a [[choir]]master. For a short time, the family kept the inn "Emrichs Bräustübl" (Emrich's Brewing Cottage). Fritz's father lost his job due to pressure imposed upon him by local Nazis, in addition to suffering from a severe battlefield injury. He died 1935 by suicide when Fritz was five years old.

Fritz mastered several instruments while still a schoolboy and when he entered the [[Hochschule für Musik Freiburg]] in 1950, his principal study was the [[French horn|horn]]. Then the singing teacher {{ill|Margarethe von Winterfeldt|de}} discovered and trained his voice.<ref>{{cite book|first=Werner|last=Pfister|title=Fritz Wunderlich: Biographie|publisher=[[Schott Music]]|location=Mainz|year=2005|pages=1–41|isbn=3-7957-0536-3|language=de}}</ref>

In 1956, he married harpist Eva Jungnitsch (1934-2016). The couple had three children: Constanze (born 1957), Wolfgang (born 1959) and Barbara (1964-2022). The family initially lived in Stuttgart, later moving to Munich.

Wunderlich was soon noted{{By whom|date=March 2023}} as a brilliant young tenor, especially in [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozartian]] roles, but he later expanded his reach to the full range of the [[lyric tenor]] repertoire.

He occasionally sang and recorded minor [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] roles such as the steersman in ''[[Der fliegende Holländer]]'', Walther von der Vogelweide in ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'', and the shepherd in ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]''. He sang and recorded the role of the Italian Tenor in ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]''.

==Recordings==
{{external media|audio1=[https://archive.org/details/MozartRequiemKarajan1960/W.+A.+Mozart+-+Requiem+-+12.+Benedictus+(Herbert+von+Karajan%2C+Wiener+Philharmoniker%2C+Wiener+Singverein%2C+1960).mp3 Wunderlich performing] Mozart's [[Requiem (Mozart)|Requiem]] with [[Herbert von Karajan]] conducting the [[Vienna Philharmonic]] and [[Leontyne Price]], [[Eberhard Waechter (baritone)|Eberhard Waechter]], [[Hilde Rössel-Majdan]], [[Walter Berry (bass-baritone)|Walter Berry]] in 1960}}

It was the fashion during Wunderlich's career for many German theatres to perform operas in the local rather than original language. Therefore, most of his recordings of the Italian operatic repertoire are sung in German, including [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]'s ''[[La traviata]]''<ref>{{YouTube|rxHzqbYQHkg|''La traviata'', act 2 finale}}{{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref> and Rossini's ''The Barber of Seville''. (He sang his recording of the Verdi ''[[Requiem (Verdi)|Requiem]]'' in distinctly Germanic Latin.) Wunderlich achieved the highest distinction within the German repertory. Of special importance is the 1964 recording of Mozart's ''[[The Magic Flute]]'', conducted by [[Karl Böhm]], in which Wunderlich gave a critically acclaimed performance as Tamino,<ref>"''Die Zauberflöte'' review", ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'', October 1965</ref> opposite sopranos Evelyn Lear as Pamina and [[Roberta Peters]] as the Queen of the Night and baritone [[Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau]] in the role of Papageno. There is also a live performance of ''The Magic Flute'' recorded in 1960 at the [[Salzburg Festival]], and several recordings as Belmonte in ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]''. Recordings also exist of lesser-known Mozart operas such as ''[[Zaide]]'' and ''[[La finta giardiniera]]''

Wunderlich's crystal-clear voice, exquisitely precise diction, and intelligent but passionate interpretation also led him to impressive renditions of the [[Song cycle|lieder cycles]] of [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]] and [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]] with pianist [[Hubert Giesen]], who was also his artistic mentor. His famous recording of Schumann's ''[[Dichterliebe]]'' remains a gold standard of this genre. Many tenors since have emulated Wunderlich's interpretation of this cycle.

Another notable recording he left is [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J. S. Bach]]'s ''[[Christmas Oratorio]]'', with fellow singers [[Gundula Janowitz]], [[Christa Ludwig]], and [[Franz Crass]], conducted by [[Karl Richter (conductor)|Karl Richter]]. Also he is the tenor on [[Herbert von Karajan]]'s recording of Beethoven's ''[[Missa solemnis (Beethoven)|Missa Solemnis]]'', with Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, and [[Walter Berry (bass-baritone)|Walter Berry]]. He recorded an album of pre-Bach sacred songs, featuring music of [[Heinrich Schütz|Schütz]], [[Georg Philipp Telemann|Telemann]], [[Dieterich Buxtehude|Buxtehude]], and other less well-known composers. With Christa Ludwig he recorded [[Gustav Mahler]]'s ''[[Das Lied von der Erde]]'' with the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]] under [[Otto Klemperer]].

At the time of his death, he had been recording [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]]'s ''[[The Creation (Haydn)|The Creation]]'', with the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] and the [[Wiener Singverein]] under [[Herbert von Karajan]] with other soloists Christa Ludwig, Gundula Janowitz, [[Walter Berry (bass-baritone)|Walter Berry]] and Fischer-Dieskau. Wunderlich had completed recording his arias, but [[Werner Krenn]] was hired to record the recitatives. Several recorded live performances of Wunderlich singing the whole part, under Karajan, survive.<ref>For instance: recorded August 8, 1965, a complete live performance in Salzburg, conducted by [[Herbert von Karajan]], with the Wiener Singverein and the [[Vienna Philharmonic]], and Gundula Janowitz, Fritz Wunderlich, [[Kim Borg]], and Hermann Prey. Arkadia, CDKAR 203.2.</ref>

Numerous anthology albums of him singing arias from opera and operetta are available.

Available videos include a full-length performance (in German) as Count Almaviva in ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' (with [[Hermann Prey]], [[Erika Köth]] and [[Hans Hotter]]), and a recital of operatic arias.

==Death==
[[File:Grave Wunderlich Fritz.jpg|thumb|Wunderlich's gravesite in [[Munich]]. 2017.]]
Wunderlich sang at the 1966 [[Salzburg Festival]] and his final recital took place on September 4, 1966, at [[Usher Hall]] in [[Edinburgh]].<ref>https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/de/kuenstler-innen/fritzwunderlich/biografie</ref> But two weeks later his career was cut short by an accident while he was on a hunting holiday. He fell from a stairway<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Wunderlich-Fritz.htm|title = Fritz Wunderlich (Tenor) – Short Biography|website=bach-cantatas.com}}</ref> in a country house owned by bass [[Gottlob Frick]] in [[Oberderdingen]] near [[Maulbronn]] after tripping on a loose shoelace, fracturing his skull.<ref>{{cite book|first=Hubert|last=Giesen|title=Am Flügel: Hubert Giesen. Meine Lebenserinnerungen|publisher=Fischer|location=Frankfurt am Main|year=1972|isbn=3-10-025401-5|pages=[http://www.andreas-praefcke.de/wunderlich/giesen_e.htm 251–260]|via=andreas-praefcke.de}}</ref> He died at the University Clinic of [[Heidelberg]] just nine days short of his 36th birthday and a few weeks before his scheduled debut (8 October 1966) at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in New York City as Don Ottavio in Mozart's ''[[Don Giovanni]]''.<ref>[http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:168220/datastream/PDF/view "The Legacy of Fritz Wunderlich: One Performer's Perceptions of Selected Discography"] by Daniel Jon Gerdes, 2011 treatise for [[Doctor of Music]] [[dissertation]], [[Florida State University College of Music]]</ref> 

Wunderlich is buried in Munich's [[Munich Waldfriedhof|Waldfriedhof]] cemetery.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fritz-wunderlich-ges.com/ Website of the Fritz Wunderlich Gesellschaft]
*{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=q61335|label=Fritz Wunderlich}}
*[http://www.andreas-praefcke.de/wunderlich/ Wunderlich fan's comprehensive website]
*{{IMDb name|2940300|Fritz Wunderlich}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wunderlich, Fritz}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:German operatic tenors]]
[[Category:Deutsche Grammophon artists]]
[[Category:Lieder singers]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths from falls]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in Germany]]
[[Category:Hochschule für Musik Freiburg alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century German male opera singers]]
[[Category:People from Kusel (district)]]
[[Category:Burials at Munich Waldfriedhof]]