René Kollo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
René Kollo (born November 20, 1937) is a German tenor.
He was born in Berlin and grew up in Wyk auf Föhr. He attended a photography school in Hamburg, although he had always been interested in music, particularly conducting. He did not begin to perform (as a self-taught drummer) until the mid-50s. He played in jazz clubs and studied acting with Else Bongers in Berlin. To prepare for musical roles, he studied with Elsa Varena, who quickly recognized that he had an unusual gift.
He signed his first recording contract at 20 and recorded popular hits. He made his operatic debut in Braunschweig in 1965 in three Stravinsky one-acters: Mavra, Renard, and Oedipus Rex. He stayed in Braunschweig for two years, singing most of the lyric tenor repertoire. In 1967, he went to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, still singing lyric roles.
In the same year, he married pop singer Dorthe Larsen and became the father of a daughter, Nathalie.
He was guest soloist in Munich, Frankfurt, Milan, and Lisbon. He began his now legendary association with Wagner and his Heldentenor roles at Bayreuth in 1969, where he sang the Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer. The major Wagnerian roles followed in quick succession, Erik in 1970, Lohengrin in 1971, Stolzing in 1973, Parsifal in 1975, Siegfried in 1976, Tristan and Tannhäuser in 1981. He has since sung these roles at all the major opera houses worldwide.
He has also directed Parsifal in Darmstadt in 1986 and Tiefland by Eugen d'Albert in Ulm in 1991.
He also has sung non-Wagnerian roles, including Hermann in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Britten's Peter Grimes, and Verdi's Otello. In fact, he has an unusually wide repertoire for a Heldentenor.
He has not confined himself to grand opera, but made many television appearances, singing lighter repertoire, including an operetta he composed himself.
He has been married since 1982 to Beatrice Bouquet, a dancer, and they have three children, Florence, Magali, and Oliver Walter.
He has made numerous recordings, both in the classical and in the operetta repertoire. He has also composed and written text for numerous songs, following in the steps of both his father and his grandfather, who were operetta composers.
