On August 24, 2024, German baritone Siegfried Lorenz died at 78.

Born in East Berlin, Lorenz studied voice in his hometown at the Hochschule für Musik from 1964 to 1969 and was a master student of Alois Orth.

He went on to win several international singing competitions and was contracted by the Komische Oper Berlin in 1969. In 1973, he became the first vocal soloist at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, a position that Kurt Masur created for him.

From 1978 to 1992, Lorenz became the first lyrical baritone at the Staatsoper Berlin and went on to appear with the company as Wolfram in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” the Count in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro,” Posa in Verdi’s “Don Carlos,” and as Borromeo in Hans Pfitzner’s “Palestrina.” He was also recognized as a Lied singer.

He also performed in several European theaters as well as US and Japan.

Lorenz made many recordings including Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, Schubert’s Winterreise, Beckmesser in Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” and several cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach.

During his career, he won many awards including the Kunstpreis in 1976, the National Prize of the German Democratic Republic in 1983, and Kammersänger of the Staatsoper in Berlin in 1979.

Following his career as a performer he became a professor from 2001 to 2003 at the Musikhochschule Hamburg.