Obituary: Vienna State Opera Chorus Director Ernsy Dunshirn Passes Away

By David Salazar
(Credit: © Wiener Staatsoper/Axel Zeininger)

Former Vienna State Opera Chorus Director Ernst Dunshirn passed away on March 17. He was 85-years-old.

Dunshirn was born on Feb. 6, 1935 near Vienna and studied conducting and church music in Vienna and France. From there he went on tours with the Vienna Chamber Choir before eventually working as choir director with such organizations as the Salzburg Festival and Bregenz Festival, among others.

He was appointed as Chorus Director at the Vienna State Opera in 1997, a position which he held until 2007. He also led 15 performances of Wagner’s “Rienzi” in 1998 and 2001.

He was also a professor of choral singing at the University of Vienna and was also a jury representative for Austria at numerous international choir competitions.

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