German opera singer
Werner Güra
Born 1964 (age 59–60) Education Occupations
Tenor in opera and concert
Academic teacher
Years active 1994–present
Werner Güra (born 1964) is a German classical tenor in opera, concert and Lied , also an academic teacher in Zurich .
Career
Güra was born in Munich. He studied at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg . He continued his studies with Kurt Widmer at the Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel and with Margreet Honig in Amsterdam. He took courses in acting with Ruth Berghaus and Theo Adam .[ 1]
On the opera stage he performed as a guest artist at the Frankfurt Opera and the Theater Basel . He was a member of the Semperoper in Dresden from 1994 to 1999, singing especially parts of Mozart and Rossini.[ 2] Since 1998 he has been a guest at the Staatsoper Berlin .
In concert he performed in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Philippe Herreweghe at the Salzburg Festival . He also collaborated with conductors such as Peter Schreier , Wolfgang Gönnenwein and Friedemann Layer.[ 1] In 2002, he recorded the tenor arias in Bach's St Matthew Passion , conducted by Enoch zu Guttenberg , with Marcus Ullmann as the Evangelist and Klaus Mertens as Jesus.[ 3] In 2004, he appeared at the Rheingau Musik Festival in Handel's Messiah , with che choir and orchestra Bamberger Symphony conducted by Rolf Beck in Eberbach Abbey , recorded live.[ 4] In 2008, he sang in Mendelssohn’s Paulus with the Kammerchor Stuttgart and the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart, conducted by Frieder Bernius , at the Tonhalle Düsseldorf .[ 5] In 2009, he appeared again at the Rheingau Musik Festival in Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri .[ 6] [ 7]
In the field of historically informed performance , Güra was the tenor (Evangelist and arias) in a 1997 recording of Bach's Christmas Oratorio , conducted by René Jacobs , with the RIAS Kammerchor , the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin , Dorothea Röschmann , Andreas Scholl and Klaus Häger .[ 8] In 1998, he recorded the arias of the St Matthew Passion with Philippe Herreweghe , the Collegium Vocale Gent , Evangelist Ian Bostridge , Jesus Franz-Josef Selig , Sibylla Rubens , Andreas Scholl and Dietrich Henschel . In 2006, he was the Evangelist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio with Nikolaus Harnoncourt , the Arnold Schoenberg Chor , the Concentus Musicus Wien , Christine Schäfer , Bernarda Fink , Gerald Finley and Christian Gerhaher , recorded live in the Musikverein Vienna.[ 9] In 2007, he recorded with the same ensemble Bach's cantata Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir , BWV 29 .[ 10]
Werner Güra is a notable singer of Lieder , mostly accompanied by Christoph Berner . Their recording of Schubert's Winterreise , using a Rönisch fortepiano of 1872, was reviewed in The Times by Hugh Canning in 2010:
By comparison with the veteran Peter Schreier, the younger tenor has a more rounded, agreeable basic timbre, but, like Schreier, he uses a wide palette of vocal and expressive colours to make this Winter’s Journey a spiritual and emotional trajectory through some of Schubert’s most bleak and harrowing soundscapes.[ 11]
In 2011, he performed the Liebesliederwalzer of Brahms and Spanische Liebeslieder op. 138 of Schumann with Ruth Ziesak , Anke Vondung and Konrad Jarnot at the Rheingau Musik Festival at Schloss Johannisberg .[ 12]
He is teaching voice and chamber music at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste .[ 13]
References
External links
International National Academics Artists Other