Werner Hollweg (Tenor)

Born: September 13, 1936 - Solingen, Germany
Died: January 1, 2007 - Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

The German tenor, Werner (Friedrich) Hollweg, received his training in Detmold, Lugano, and Munich.

After making his debut with the Vienna Chamber Opera in 1962, he sang in Bonn (1963-1967) and Gelsenkirchen (1967-1968). His success as Belmonte in Florence in 1969 and as a soloist in L.v. Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony under Herbert von Karajan in Osaka in 1970, led to engagements with the Hamburg State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, and the Vienna State Opera. He also appeared in Rome, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, and at London’s Covent Garden (debut as Tutus, 1976).

Werner Hollweg won particular distinction is such Mozart portrayals as Don Ottavio, Idomeneo, Tamino, Basilio, and Ferrando. He also sang contemporary operas, creating the role of Mathew Levi in Höller’s Der Meister und Margarita (Paris, 1989). His concert repertoire ranged from Haydn to Zoltán Kodály. His interpretations of the songs of Schubert, Schumann, and Carl Loewe, were especially esteemed.

Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997); German Wikipedia Website
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (June 2001); Johannes Honigmann (January 2007)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Karl Münchinger

Tenor

BWV 245

Links to other Sites

Werner Hollweg (Wikipedia) [German]

Interview mit Werner Hollweg (BR-Online) [German]