About Me
Friedrich Karl Otto Wunderlich was born in Kusel in 1930. Both his parents were amateur musicians; his father a cellist and his mother a violinist. In 1948, Wunderlich started working with local dance bands where he would sing, play the trumpet, or play the accordion. He even started his own band called "Die Hutmacher" or "Hat Maker." In 1949 he started voice lessons at the request of passerbys who heard him sing as he worked at a baker's. He studied with a teacher (Bittel-Valckenberg) in Kaiserslautern, which was a 40 Km bike ride in one direction! Later that same year, Wunderlich auditioned for the Freiburg College of Music and studied the frenchhorn and singing. While outside of class, he loved to play and sing jazz. It has been said that he loved to play his trumpet and sing like Louis Armstrong! It is also rumoured that Wunderlich would drink a bottle of beer every evening because he believed it made his voice grow! (some advice to aspiring lyric tenors out there) While attending this conservatory, he developed a strong connection with Baroque and Classical Opera. This is especially evident in his passionate and enchanting renditions of Mozart Opera roles................................................. ............................................................
................... Besides singing, Wunderlich loved to hunt and build radios. When he finished building radio recievers, Wunderlich would use them to listen in on the police radio system! He would use his radio transcievers to send out messages in morse code. Since Wunderlich loved to hunt, he was frequently hunting and fishing with his friends. In 1955, Wunderlich sang Tamino in a student production of Die Zauberflote. His performance was so good that Wurttemberg State Opera offered him a contract, which he accepted. His 1st professional role was Ulrich Eislinger in Die Meistersinger. When Josef Traxel became ill and could not fulfill his duties, Wunderlich was given the chance to sing Tamino for a packed house. This performance made him a crowd favorite and Wunderlich's short, but incredible career began...................................................... ............................................................
.............. Wunderlich was the most respected Mozart tenor of his time. In addition to Mozart opera, he was praised for his amazingly beautiful singing and interpretation of Bach, Mahler, Puccini, Verdi, Smetana, and Bel Canto Opera. His voice held both brilliance and immense clarity, which allowed it to cut through orchestras and hit the audience with unaltered charisma, warmth, and virtuosity. Wunderlich's singing made him a favorite in the Bavarian State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden Opera, Edinburgh Opera, and the United States (He had a very successful tour there in 1964). He was scheduled to debute at the Metropolitan Opera House on October 8th, 1966, but tragically died less than a month beforehand. On September 17, 1966, Wunderlich fell down the stairs of Gottlieb Frick's (a famous bass of the same time) castle in Heidelburg after stepping on an untied shoelace. He died later that night, a week before his 36th birthday. ............................................................
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