Biography
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Born
19 December 1957 (age 66)
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Born In
Dresden, Sachsen, Germany
The German baritone, Olaf Bär, is considered to be one of the foremost Lieder interpreters of his generation and regularly appears in the world's greatest recital venues. He sang in the Kreuzchor of Dresden from 1966 to 1975 and studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden. In 1982 he won the 1st Prize in Dvořák vocal competition in Karlovy Vary, and, in 1983, 1st prize in the vocal competition sponsored by the East German opera houses and the Walter Grüner Lieder Competition in London.
In 1981 Olaf Bär made his operatic debut in Dresden, and from 1985 to 1991 he was a principal member of the State Opera there. He made his British debut in a recital at London’s Wigmore Hall in 1983m, returning to London in 1985 to make his operatic debut as Strauss Harlekin at Covent Garden.
His recordings of opera and concert repertoire include performances in Ein Deusches Requiem and Die Zauberflöte with Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players, a disc of Bach Cantatas with Peter Schreier and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and both the Duruflé and Fauré Requiems.
In the summer of 1985 Olaf Bär made his first Lieder record, a programme of Schumann's Dichterliebe Op.48 and Liederkreis Op.39. Since then he has recorded much of the most important Lieder repertoire, including Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin, (which won a Gramophone award) Winterreise and Schwanengesang, a selection of Wolf's Mörike Lieder, Schumann's Liederkreis Op.24 and Kerner-Lieder Op.35, and a disc of songs by Brahms. His accompanist in all of these recitals was the late Geoffrey Parsons.
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