Peter Klein (Tenor)

Peter Klein ( born January 25, 1907 in Zuendorf at Cologne; † 4 October 1992 in Vienna) was Tenorbuffo and character tenor at the Vienna State Opera.

Life

Peter Klein was born on January 25, 1907 in Zuendorf in Cologne ( Germany ). He had engagements in Dresden, Zurich and Hamburg and was engaged from 1942 until his retirement celebration at the Vienna State Opera, whose honorary member he was.

Peter Klein participated in the Salzburg Festival and the Bregenz Festival and had numerous guest appearances on other opera houses ( Covent Garden, Met, Bolshoi ). Since 1956, he devoted himself to the training of young singers and became a professor at the Vienna Conservatory, where he led through the opera class for many years. When he came to a summer course to Savonlinna (Finland), he founded there in 1967, the Savonlinna Opera Festival new, which had been originally founded in 1912 by the famous Finnish soprano Aino Ackté but had not been held since 1930.

Peter Klein was a member of the legendary Vienna Mozart Ensemble. He was not only known for his vocal versatility, and his great Wortdeutlichkeit, he was also a brilliant stage actor, making him very popular with the Viennese audience made ​​especially.

Peter Klein lived after his farewell to the stage until his death in his adopted hometown of Vienna, where he died on 4 October 1992 at the age of 86, but regularly visited his hometown, where he also felt very connected.

He received an honorary dedicated grave in Vienna's Central Cemetery (Group 40, Series 1, No. 27).