Andreas Schager

Andreas Schager

The tenor as Siegfried in a 2016 production of Götterdämmerung at the Staatsoper Berlin
Born Rohrbach an der Gölsen
Education University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Occupation Operatic tenor
Organization Staatsoper Berlin
Website www.andreas-schager.com

Andreas Schager is an Austrian operatic tenor. He began his career as a tenor for operettas, but has developed into singing Heldentenor parts by Richard Wagner including Tristan, Siegmund, Siegfried and Parsifal. A member of the Staatsoper Berlin, he has appeared internationally at venues including La Scala, The Proms and the Bayreuth Festival.

Career

He was born Andreas Schagerl in Rohrbach an der Gölsen, Lower Austria. He was a singer of the Wiener Singakademie, and then studied voice at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Walter Moore.[1] He made his debut on stage as Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Schlosstheater Schönbrunn.[1] His first engagement was as an operetta tenor at the Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach.

Schager sang lyrical tenor parts as a guest in Bologna, Frankfurt, Ghent, in Vienna, and at the Royal Opera Canada,[1] including Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. He had developed into a singer of major Wagner roles by 2009, when he performed the part of David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, also Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio and Max in Weber's Der Freischütz.[1] He appeared in the title role of Rienzi first in June 2011 at the Theater Meiningen, and as Siegfried at the Halle Opera in the 2011/12 season.[2] He performed the parts of Tannhäuser, both Siegmund and Siegfried in Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Parsifal.[2] He appeared as Tristan first in Minden in 2012, alongside Dara Hobbs as Isolde, with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie conducted by Frank Beermann in a staging by Matthias von Stegmann. A reviewer from Vienna called his performance a "sensation".[3] She described him as looking and acting like a knight, and his voice as unbelievably powerful, used without straining it, but also without restraint during the three acts ("eine unwahrscheinlich kraftvolle Stimme, die unforciert drei Akte lang ohne Schonung eingesetzt wird").[3] She thinks that his high range, built upon a basis of a broad middle range, seems to be able to move mountains ("Auf einer breiten Mittellage-Basis baut er Höhen auf, die Berge versetzen könnten, meint man.).[3] The performance was noticed internationally; reviewers noted the singers' intensity and authenticity, and described Schager's Tristan as a "boisterous, passionate firebrand and dare-devil, whose ego does not have space for self-doubt.[4]

At a performance of Siegfried at the Staatsoper Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim on 7 April 2013, Lance Ryan was scheduled to sing the part of Siegfried but failed to show up for Act I beginning in the afternoon. Schager, scheduled to sing Siegfried in Götterdämmerung, was nearby rehearsing Die Zauberflöte with the Berlin Philharmonic for a performance the same evening, and he agreed to Barenboim's request to sing the part of Siegfried from the wings while an assistant director appeared on stage in Ryan's costume. Ryan arrived in time for Act II.[5][6] Schager appeared then as Siegfried in Götterdämmerung, at the Staatsoper and also at The Proms and La Scala.[1][7]

Schager made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2016 as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, and stepped in as Parsifal. He is scheduled to be Parsifal in 2017 and 2018.[1] He appeared as Siegfried in a concert performance at the 2016 Spring Festival in Tokyo, conducted by Marek Janowski.[8] He appeared in the two performances of the Ring Cycle of the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden, staged by Uwe Eric Laufenberg, as Siegfried,[9] and on short notice also as Siegmund.[10] A critic said she had rarely met a tenor that wild, untamed, freely flowing, blasting every high note with joy ("... einen so wilden, ungezähmten, sich verströmenden, jeden hohen Ton mit Freude schmetternden Tenor selten gehört". She described him as a truly intelligent actor who is capable of great nuances ("... und daneben ein wirklich intelligenter Darsteller, der zu großartigen Nuancierungen fähig ist").[11]

In concert, Schager sang in Mahler's Eighth Symphony in Lucerne, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, and in Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder at the Philharmonie de Paris, conducted by Philippe Jordan. He was the tenor soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde at the Südtiroler Festspiele in Toblach and in Hamburg with choir and orchestra of the NDR,[1] and in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Bolzano and Ravenna.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Andreas Schager". Bayreuth Festival. 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Andreas Schager" (in German). Stadttheater Klagenfurt. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Pfabigan, Sieglinde (16 September 2012). "Minden: Tristan und Isolde" (in German). Der neue Merker. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  4. ↑ Fryer, Paul, ed. (2014). "Opera in the Media Age: Essays on Art, Technology and Popular Culture". McFarland. pp. 49–53. ISBN 9781476616209. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Bowie-Sell, Daisy (8 April 2013). "Canadian tenor Lance Ryan fails to show up for performance". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Siegfried, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013". markronan.com. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Andreas Schager (Sänger Ensemble)" (in German). Staatsoper Berlin. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Der Ring des Nibelungen Zweiter Tag "Siegfried" / Concert Style". tokyo-harusai.com. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Zibulski, Axel (4 April 2017). "Andreas Schager" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Wiesbaden: Besetzungsänderung für »Der Ring des Nibelungen« während der Internationalen Maifestspiele 2017". Infos des Tages (Mittwoch, 26 April 2017) (in German). Der Neuer Merker. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Wagner, Renate (2017). "Minden: Tristan und Isolde" (in German). Der neue Merker. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
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