Eike Wilm Schulte

Eike Wilm Schulte
Colour press shot of a clean-shaven, smiling man with short, white hair, combed back
Schulte c. 2010
Born(1939-10-13)13 October 1939
Plettenberg, Gau Westphalia-South, German Reich
Died31 October 2025(2025-10-31) (aged 86)
Germany
EducationMusikhochschule Köln
OccupationOperatic baritone
Organizations
TitleKammersänger
AwardsGoethe-Plakette des Landes Hessen

Eike Wilm Schulte (13 October 1939 – 31 October 2025) was a German operatic baritone. A member of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and the Bayerische Staatsoper, he made a career of more than fifty years, performing 119 roles. He appeared at major opera houses internationally, regularly at the Bayreuth Festival for twelve years and at the Metropolitan Opera. Signature roles of the versatile singer included Rossini's Figaro, Germont in Verdi's La traviata, Beckmesser in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier by R. Strauss. He participated in several opera premieres.

Life and career

Schulte was born in Plettenberg on 13 October 1939.[1][2] His first musical interest was the piano.[3] He studied voice at the Musikhochschule Köln from age 19,[2][3] with Josef Metternich and Clemens Glettenberg, among others.[1] He studied further at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.[4][5]

Early career

Before completing his studies, Grischa Barfuss [de], the Intendant of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein called him to the house where he made his stage debut in 1966 as Sid in Britten's Albert Herring.[1][4][6] In 1969, he sang in the world premiere of Giselher Klebe's Das Märchen von der schönen Lilie at the Schwetzingen Festival in the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen.[7] From 1969, Schulte was a member of the Theater Bielefeld, engaged by the music director Bernhard Conz. He learned new roles such as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss, Kothner in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the Tsar in Lortzing's Zar und Zimmermann and Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte. He also appeared there as Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, as Germont in La traviata[1] and in the leading role of Alfred Ill in Gottfried von Einem's Der Besuch der alten Dame, opposite Martha Mödl in the title role, in the opera's German premiere.[1][7]

Wiesbaden

From 1973 to 1988 Schulte was a member of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden,[1][3] where he performed major roles, including Telramund in Wagner's Lohengrin,[8] Marcel in Puccini's La bohème,[9] Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Mirakel in Offenbach's Hoffmanns Erzählungen, alongside Hermin Esser in the title role, Elizabeth Parcells as Olympia and Gail Gilmore as Niklaus,[10] and the Pharao in Rossini's Mosè, with Nadine Secunde.[11] He performed contemporary operas such as premieres by Volker David Kirchner, as Henrik in Die Trauung in Wiesbaden in 1974, as Babel in Die fünf Minuten des Isaak Babel in Wuppertal in 1980, and as Ezechiel in Das kalte Herz in Wiesbaden in 1981.[7] With music director Siegfried Köhler, he appeared in 75 roles, celebrated especially in the title role of Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas.[1]

Düsseldorf and Munich

Schulte performed at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, as Frank and Pierrot in Korngold's Die tote Stadt, and the title role of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.[1] From 1988 he was a member of the Bavarian State Opera for two decades, where he performed roles such as Don Fernando in Beethoven's Fidelio, Alidoro in Rossini's La Cenerentola, the Geisterbote in Die Frau ohne Schatten by R. Strauss, Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, and Telramund in Lohengrin, directed by Richard Jones.[12]

Bayreuth

Schulte performed at the Bayreuth Festival for twelve years,[1] beginning in 1988 as the Heerrufer in Lohengrin, and from 1992 as Wolfram von Eschenbach in Tannhäuser;[4][7] in 1998 he stepped in as Gunther in Götterdämmerung, singing but not acting.[13]

International opera

At the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Schulte made his debut in 1991 as the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte, conducted by James Levine, followed by Faninal, Beckmesser and Kurwenal in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.[14] He performed as the Herald in Lohengrin at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1990, and appeared the same year at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris as Beckmesser, performing the role also at the Berlin State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1993, and at the Staatsoper Dresden in 1994. He performed as Faninal at the Hamburg State Opera and at the Cologne Opera.[7]

Schulte appeared as Peter in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel at the Royal Opera House in London in 2008.[15] He performed as a guest also at La Scala in Milan,[1] La Fenice in Venice, and the Liceu in Barcelona, among others.[7]

Concert

Schulte appeared in recitals and concerts.[7] He performed in Bruckner's Mass No. 1 in 1996 as part of the Wiener Festwochen, with John Eliot Gardiner conducting the Monteverdi Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic.[16] In 1997, he was the baritone soloist in Ein deutsches Requiem by Brahms on a tour of the Wiener Singverein with soprano Ruth Ziesak and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Marek Janowski, to the Laon Cathedral, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Auditorio nacional de musica in Madrid and Palau de la Música de València.[17] He appeared in a concert of the Salzburg Festival that year in Bruckner's Te Deum, with the choir of the Slovak Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado.[18] He took part as a soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado in 2000, both at the Berliner Philharmonie and for the 50th anniversary of Sony in Tokyo, Mahler's Eighth Symphony in Tanglewood, conducted by James Levine, and an open-air-concert in Paris with both the Orchestre National de France and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa.[8] He performed as a soloist in Haydn's Die Schöpfung, Beethoven's Missa solemnis, Mendelssohn's Elias, and Schoenberg's Gurrelieder,[19]

Later years

Schulte appeared as the Music teacher in Ariadne auf Naxos by R. Strauss at the 2012 Baden-Baden Festival, conducted by Christian Thielemann, when Renémade her debut of the title role.[20] His last role in a new production was Kothner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Bavarian State Opera in 2016,[12] directed by David Bösch [de] and conducted by Kirill Petrenko.[21] When he completed 50 years of performing, he had sung 119 opera roles and 35 different concert works, at more than 70 theaters and at 26 festivals, working with 120 stage directors,[1] including Dieter Dorn, August Everding, Götz Friedrich, Harry Kupfer, Thomas Langhoff [de], and Peter Stein,[8] and 190 conductors[1] including Daniel Barenboim, Christoph von Dohnányi, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Giuseppe Sinopoli, and Heinz Wallberg.[4][19]

Personal life

Schulte was married to Elisabeth; they lived in Wiesbaden and in Herscheid, where he led a choir and organised concerts.[2]

Schulte died on 31 October 2025, at the age of 86.[12][22][23]

Awards

Schulte became an honorary member of the Hessisches Staatstheater in 1993.[8][19][24] In 2008, he received the Goethe-Plakette des Landes Hessen, the highest award of the Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts.[1][5][8] He was granted the title Kammersänger by the Hessisches Staatstheater in 2010,[8] as the first recipient of the honour in Hesse.[19] A gala concert was given there in 2015 to celebrate his 50th stage jubilee, including the competition scene from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg as Beckmesser with René Kollo as Stolzing.[1]

Discography

Schulte appeared in live recordings as the Heerrufer from Bayreuth,[25] and as Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg from Deutsche Oper Berlin.[26] He recorded Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri with Simone Kermes in the title role, the EuropaChorAkademie and the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Joshard Daus in 2001.[27] He recorded the role of Amfortas in Wagner's Parsifal live the same year, with choir and orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by Thielemann, and Robert Dean Smith in the title role.[28] He performed the title role if Johann Adolph Hasse's L'artigiano gentiluomo for television.[7]

Video

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Häußner, Werner; Schilling, Marcel (23 December 2015). "Aus Westfalen in die große Opernwelt: Bariton Eike Wilm Schulte feiert 50. Bühnenjubiläum". Revierpassagen (in German). Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Damschen, Hartmut (13 October 2019). "Eike Wilm Schulte wird heute 80". come-on.de (in German). Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Kaufhold, Martin (13 October 2019). "Abschied von einem großen Sänger und guten Freund". Gottlob Frick Society (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Eike Wilm Schulte, a pillar of the German operatic tradition, dies at 86". Moto perpetuo. 1 November 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Die Zauberflöte". Musik Informationszentrum (in German). 8 February 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Eike Wilm Schulte". Bavarian State Opera (in German). 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Eike Wilm Schulte". Bayreuth Festival (in German). Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Eike Wilm Schulte". Hamburgische Staatsoper (in German). Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  9. ^ La Bohème (in German). Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. 4 October 1978.
  10. ^ Hoffmnns Erzählungen (in German). Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. 13 January 1980.
  11. ^ Mosè (in German). Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. 28 January 1982.
  12. ^ a b c Krasting, Malte. "Wiesbaden: Eike Wilm Schulte zum Gedenken". Bavarian State Opera (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  13. ^ "Götterdämmerung / Besetzung 1998". Bayreuth Festival (in German). Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Die Zauberflöte". Metropolitan Opera archives. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  15. ^ Catchpole, Kevin (13 December 2008). "Hänsel und Gretel" (PDF). British Theatre Guide (in German). Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  16. ^ "Vienna Festival Weeks". Vienna Philharmonic (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  17. ^ "Eike Wilm Schulte". Wiener Singverein. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  18. ^ "Berliner Philharmoniker 2". Salzburg Festival. 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  19. ^ a b c d Bartsch, Andrea (15 September 2010). "Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden - Bariton Eike Wilm Schulte zum Kammersänger ernannt". Gesellschaft Freunde der Künste (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  20. ^ Lange, Joachim Lange (18 February 2012). "Ariadne auf Naxos". Online Musik Magazin (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  21. ^ "Die Mmeistersinger von Nürnberg". Bavarian State Opera (in German). 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  22. ^ "Wiesbadener Kammersänger Eike Wilm Schulte gestorben". Wiesbadener Kurier (in German). 31 October 2025. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  23. ^ "Trauer um Kammersänger Eike Wilm Schulte". Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  24. ^ "Theaterleitung". Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (in German). Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  25. ^ Richard Wagner: Lohengrin, from the Festspielhaus, Bayreuth. Copyright 1991 by Unitel. Catalog number 440 070 536-3
  26. ^ Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera d'Oro, catalog number OPD-112
  27. ^ Benda, Susanne (1 September 2007). "Das Paradies und die Peri". Rondo (in German). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  28. ^ "Parsifal". wagnerdisco.net (in German). 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.

Further reading

allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eike_Wilm_Schulte