Theo Altmeyer
Encyclopedia
Theo Altmeyer was a German classical tenor
. Although he was a successful opera
singer, he is chiefly remembered for his work as an oratorio
soloist. He possessed a rich and lyrical voice that he employed with great expression and nuance.
, Altmeyer began his performance career while still a voice student at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
where he studied under Clemens Glettenberg from 1953 to 1956. His first successes were primarily as an oratorio
soloist. He was hired by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk
(WDR) to perform in several recordings of cantata
s and other religious music. He went on to win second prize at the WDR's singing competition in 1955.
In 1956 Altmeyer joined the roster of singers at the Berlin State Opera
, where he sang for the next four years. While there he notably portrayed the title role in the world premiere of Humphrey Searle
's The Diary of a Madman. Then starting in the 1960-1961 season he was the principal lyric tenor at the Staatsoper Hannover
, making his debut there as Tamino in Mozart's The Magic Flute
. He became particularly successful in that house with several more Mozart roles like Ferrando in Così fan tutte
and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni
. He also excelled in portraying roles in works by Albert Lortzing
and Gioachino Rossini. Other roles of note included the title roles in Benjamin Britten
's Albert Herring
and Jacques Offenbach
's Orpheus in the Underworld
. He also found particular success in the title role of Hans Pfitzner
's Palestrina
, a role he also performed at both the Vienna State Opera
and the Staatsoper Stuttgart
.
The most important work of Altmeyer's career was in the field of religious music. He was one of the most lauded and prolific oratorio singers of his day. His repertoire spanned from the medieval masters to new compositions. He was particularly admired for his many performances and recordings of works by Johann Sebastian Bach
. As an oratorio singer he performed with major orchestras and musical ensembles throughout Germany, France, Austria, Italy, England, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland. He also participated in two large and highly successful concert tours of North America and performed at major music festivals in Ansbach, Lucerne, Montreux, Vienna, Florence, Naples and Venice.
In 1974 Altmeyer joined the voice faculty of the Musikhochschule Hannover where he taught for several decades. Among his students is Dantes Diwiak
. He continued to appear in operas and concerts during many of these years, giving his last public performance at La Morra
in 1996. He died in Hannover at the age of 76 on the anniversary of Bach's death.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. Although he was a successful opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer, he is chiefly remembered for his work as an oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
soloist. He possessed a rich and lyrical voice that he employed with great expression and nuance.
Biography
Born in EschweilerEschweiler
Eschweiler is a municipality in the district of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Belgian-Dutch frontier, and about 15 km east of Aachen and 50 km west of Cologne.- History :...
, Altmeyer began his performance career while still a voice student at the Hochschule für Musik Köln
Hochschule für Musik Köln
The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...
where he studied under Clemens Glettenberg from 1953 to 1956. His first successes were primarily as an oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
soloist. He was hired by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
(WDR) to perform in several recordings of cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s and other religious music. He went on to win second prize at the WDR's singing competition in 1955.
In 1956 Altmeyer joined the roster of singers at the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, where he sang for the next four years. While there he notably portrayed the title role in the world premiere of Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle was a British composer.-Biography:He was born in Oxford where he was a classics scholar before studying — somewhat hesitantly — with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music in London, after which he went to Vienna on a six month scholarship to become a private pupil of Anton...
's The Diary of a Madman. Then starting in the 1960-1961 season he was the principal lyric tenor at the Staatsoper Hannover
Staatsoper Hannover
Staatsoper Hannover is an opera house and opera company in Hanover. It is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.During the course of its season from September to June, Staatsoper Hannover mounts productions of a variety of operas from the standard operatic repertoire as well as 20th century...
, making his debut there as Tamino in Mozart's The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
. He became particularly successful in that house with several more Mozart roles like Ferrando in Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. He also excelled in portraying roles in works by Albert Lortzing
Albert Lortzing
Gustav Albert Lortzing was a German composer, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German Spieloper, a form similar to the French opéra comique, which grew out of the Singspiel.-Biography:Lortzing was born in Berlin to Johann Gottlieb Lortzing and Charlotte Sophie...
and Gioachino Rossini. Other roles of note included the title roles in Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's Albert Herring
Albert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
and Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's Orpheus in the Underworld
Orpheus in the Underworld
Orphée aux enfers is an opéra bouffon , or opéra féerie in its revised version, by Jacques Offenbach. The French text was written by Ludovic Halévy and later revised by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux....
. He also found particular success in the title role of Hans Pfitzner
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
's Palestrina
Palestrina (opera)
Palestrina is an opera by the German composer Hans Pfitzner, first performed in 1917. The composer referred to it as a Musikalische Legende , and wrote the libretto himself, based on a legend about the Renaissance musician Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who saves the art of contrapuntal music ...
, a role he also performed at both the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
and the Staatsoper Stuttgart
Staatsoper Stuttgart
The Staatsoper Stuttgart is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, Germany.-History:The Stuttgart Staatsoper forms part of the Stuttgart State Theatre , which is a a three-branch-theatre complex and represents the largest theatre of its kind in Europe...
.
The most important work of Altmeyer's career was in the field of religious music. He was one of the most lauded and prolific oratorio singers of his day. His repertoire spanned from the medieval masters to new compositions. He was particularly admired for his many performances and recordings of works by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. As an oratorio singer he performed with major orchestras and musical ensembles throughout Germany, France, Austria, Italy, England, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland. He also participated in two large and highly successful concert tours of North America and performed at major music festivals in Ansbach, Lucerne, Montreux, Vienna, Florence, Naples and Venice.
In 1974 Altmeyer joined the voice faculty of the Musikhochschule Hannover where he taught for several decades. Among his students is Dantes Diwiak
Dantes Diwiak
Dantes Diwiak is a tenor, who grew up and has worked mostly in Germany.- Professional career :Dantes Diwiak studied singing with Klaus Kirchner and opera at the Musikhochschule Hannover with Theo Altmeyer. He took master classes with Hermann Reutter, Birgit Nilsson, Helmuth Rilling and Scot Weir...
. He continued to appear in operas and concerts during many of these years, giving his last public performance at La Morra
La Morra
La Morra is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km southeast of Turin and about 40 km northeast of Cuneo...
in 1996. He died in Hannover at the age of 76 on the anniversary of Bach's death.