Biography (read more)
Peter Schreier was born in 1935 in Meissen, Germany, and began his musical life as an alto soloist with the Dresdner Kreuzchor before training in voice and conducting at the Musikhochschule Dresden. He made his professional operatic debut in 1957 at the Dresden Staatsoper in Beethoven’s Fidelio and rose to prominence in 1962 in the role of Belmonte in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. He became a member of the Berlin State Opera in 1963 and went on to perform more than 60 operatic roles internationally, remaining based in East Germany for most of his career while achieving rare international recognition for an artist from that country.
Schreier was celebrated as one of the leading lyric tenors of the postwar era, particularly renowned for his interpretation of Bach, singing the role of the Evangelist in the St. Matthew Passion and Christmas Oratorio in acclaimed recordings, some of which he also conducted himself. He also became a significant conductor, leading major orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic from the early 1970s. He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize and the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, both in 1988, and left an extensive discography of Schubert and Schumann lieder alongside his operatic work.
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