Peter Schreier

Peter Schreier was born on the 29th of July 1935 in Meißen. He learned singing at the conservatories in Leipzig and Dresden and was taught bei F. Polster and H. Winkler. He made his debut in Dresden in 1957, where started with small roles. In 1962, he sang Belmonte. Schreier toured Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, London, and Moscow. From 1963, he was a soloist at the Staatsoper Berlin. From 1967, he was a regular guest in Vienna. In 1968, he made his debut at the Met (Tamino). In 1969, Schreier sang at La Scala (Idomeneo), and in Buenos Aires. He recorded more than 30 full operas.

A Mozart specialist, he pursued his international stage career until 2000 (farewell performance: Tamino at the Berlin Staatsoper), but continued as a concert singer (Bach was another of his specialties), conductor and voice teacher. He died in Dresden, 25 December 2019.

He had, though it may not seem so on records, a really large voice. However, his interpretations always sound as if he had never outgrown the boys' choir where he had started to sing at ten years old. If Mozart is sung the way Schreier did, it's fit to make me become a Heavy Metal fan.

I would like to thank Vladimir Efimenko for the recording, the basic biographical information and two pictures.