Education
He studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt with Kurt Thomas and Hans Emge followed by further studies at the Musikhochschule Detmold under Fred Husler.
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Helmut Kretschmar
Edit Profilesinger university professor opera singer
Career
Although he focused his career mainly within the concert repertoire, Kretschmar did appear two times on the opera stage, notably singing in the world premiere of Arnold Schoenberg"s Moses und Aron in 1954. Possessing a rich and warm lyric tenor voice, Kretschmar excelled in the concert repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Joseph Haydn, and Felix Mendelssohn. Also an admired interpreter of Lieder, Kretschmar performed and recorded a number of works by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Hugo Wolf.
Kretschmar was born in Kleve (Niederrhein).
That same year, he embarked on a career as a concert tenor, often appearing in the oratorios and other concert works of Mendelssohn and Haydn. He sang the role of the Youth in the world premiere of Arnold Schoenberg"s Moses und Aron on the 12 March 1954 under conductor Hans Rosbaud.
His only other opera role was as Florestan in Beethoven"s Fidelio which he recorded. In 1960, he became a lecturer at the Musikhochschule Detmold, becoming a full professor in 1961, a position he held for several decades.
Between 1960-1962, he sang at several important music festivals where he excelled in the works of Handel and Bach, including the Berliner Festspiele, the Bach Festival in Lüneburg, the Bach Festival in Heidelberg, and the Göttingen International Handel Festival among others
This was soon followed by performances with major orchestras and major concert halls both in Germany and on the international stage, including appearances in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Paris, Madrid, London, India, South of Korea, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. In addition to Handel and Bach, Kretschmar"s recital and concert repertoire included many works by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf and Claude Debussy. Kretschmar made many recordings during his career, including performances of Bach"s Street Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio, and Mass in B minor, Beethoven"s Missa solemnis, Haydn"s The Seasons, and Schubert"s Mass in A flat major among many others
He has recorded for the Marken, Columbia, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, L"Oiseau Lyre, Vox, Philips, Discophiles Français, and Edition Schwann music labels.
