Hermann Prey (pronounced [praɪ]), born in Berlin on July 11, 1929, and died in Krailling on July 22, 1998, was a German lyric baritone. He performed in operas, concert music, and German art songs. His first performance in the United States was in November 1952 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Eugene Ormandy. He gave his first American recital in 1956 at New York's Carnegie Hall. As a singer of German art songs, he was skilled in performing works by Franz Schubert, including the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Die Winterreise, as well as the song collection Schwanengesang. He also performed songs by Robert Schumann, Richard Strauss, and Gustav Mahler. He frequently sang as a soloist in Bach's Passion settings and in Brahms' A German Requiem.
Early life and education
Hermann Prey was born in Berlin and lived in Germany. When World War II ended, he was supposed to be sent to the military. He studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. In 1952, he received a prize at the Frankfurt competition of the Hessischer Rundfunk.
Career
Hermann Prey began singing in song recitals and made his operatic debut the following year with the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden in Bad Salzschlirf, performing the role of Moruccio in Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland. He joined the Hamburg State Opera's resident company and sang there until 1960. During his final years in Hamburg, he also performed as a guest artist at other venues, including the Salzburg Festival.
Between 1960 and 1970, he frequently performed at the Metropolitan Opera and continued singing there as late as the early 1990s. He made his Bayreuth debut in 1965 as Wolfram in Tannhäuser, returning to Bayreuth in 1966–67, 1981–84, and 1986. Although he sang Verdi roles early in his career, he later focused more on Mozart and Richard Strauss. Prey was well known for performing Figaro (from Mozart and Rossini), but he also sang other Mozart roles, such as Papageno and Guglielmo, with equal frequency. He performed and recorded the role of the Count in The Marriage of Figaro and occasionally played Don Giovanni. Some people consider him the best-ever portrayal of Eisenstein in Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus.
Prey was skilled in Italian-style comic opera, showing cleverness, energy, and humor. His ability to sing with agility and act comically made him a popular choice for productions of Mozart's and Rossini's operas in the 1970s. In 1972, he performed as Figaro in a television film of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, with Teresa Berganza as Rosina, Luigi Alva as Almaviva, and conductor Claudio Abbado. He also appeared alongside Fritz Wunderlich and Hans Hotter in a live televised version of Il Barbiere di Siviglia in its German translation, Der Barbier von Sevilla. In 1976, he portrayed Figaro in Ponnelle's film of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.
In 1976, Hermann Prey organized the first Schubertiade Vorarlberg in Hohenems, Vorarlberg. A Schubertiade is an event celebrating the life and works of Austrian composer Franz Schubert. On May 8, 1976, the first Schubertiade Vorarlberg evening began with a recital by Hermann Prey, accompanied by pianist Leonard Hokanson.
Prey also performed in operettas and on German television, becoming very popular with audiences. He shared fame with Fritz Wunderlich until Wunderlich's early death, often performing Papageno to Wunderlich's Tamino. Unlike Fischer-Dieskau, Prey limited his Wagner roles to softer, high-baritone parts such as Wolfram and Beckmesser. He can be seen in recordings of Beckmesser, opposite Bernd Weikl.
In 1988, he directed a production of The Marriage of Figaro in Salzburg.
Prey had a clear, polished voice that sounded darker and deeper than that of his slightly older contemporary, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, but was equally refined and capable of reaching the tenor range without effort.
He recorded a multi-volume set for Phillips, tracing the history of the Lied from the Minnesänger to the twentieth century. He also released many recordings of opera and song.
Starting in 1982, he taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and wrote an autobiography, translated as First Night Fever: The Memoirs of Hermann Prey (ISBN 0-7145-3998-8).
Pianists who performed with Hermann Prey in recitals and recordings of Lied repertoire included Karl Engel, Gerald Moore, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Hokanson, Helmut Deutsch, Friedrich Gulda, Jörg Demus, Walter Klien, and Michael Endres. Florian Uhlig played for one of his last recordings in September 1997 at Herbstliche Musiktage Bad Urach.