Jerusalem, Siegfried

▪ 1996

      Siegfried Jerusalem's name and voice were both well suited to a Wagnerian heldentenor. Strong, clear, and expressive, with a slight vibrato to give it richness, his voice was, Jerusalem believed, perfect for the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre. He also was praised for his effortless phrasing and seductive tone. In addition, Jerusalem had the good looks and athletic build that fit such roles.

      Jerusalem did not begin his singing career in earnest until the age of 37. Once having begun, however, he rose rapidly, singing nearly every heldentenor role to acclaim and appearing on nearly every major operatic stage. He sang Lohengrin at the Metropolitan Opera (1980) and La Scala (1981) and sang Parsifal at the Vienna Staatsoper (1979) and at the Metropolitan (1992). He appeared for several seasons as Siegmund at the Wagner festival at Bayreuth, Germany, and he also sang the role at Zürich, Switz. (1988), and at the Lyric Opera of Chicago (1994). He first appeared at Bayreuth, however, in 1977 as Froh in Das Rheingold, and in 1988 and 1989 he appeared there as Siegfried in both Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. In 1990 Jerusalem appeared in a production of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Metropolitan that was televised nationally. For this production he sang Loge in Das Rheingold and the title role in Siegfried. He also performed in four complete recordings of the Ring, including the role of Loge in James Levine's 1991 recording of Das Rheingold, which won a Grammy award. Other Wagnerian roles included Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Erik in Der fliegende Holländer.

      Born in Oberhausen, Germany, on April 17, 1940, Jerusalem began his musical career as a bassoonist. He played with orchestras in Germany from 1961 to 1977, his last position being with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. It was in Stuttgart that he began to study voice seriously, and his singing career began there in 1976. In the same year, when the orchestra played for a television production of Johann Strauss's The Gypsy Baron and the scheduled tenor did not appear, Jerusalem performed the role of Sandor Barinkay. For a year he continued as a bassoonist while taking small parts with the Stuttgart State Opera. When his performances as Lohengrin in Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Zürich led to offers from Berlin, Vienna, and Munich, Jerusalem decided to pursue his singing career full-time.

      Jerusalem credited his clear diction to his singing of lieder. He gave his first lieder recital at Bayreuth in 1982, and he later recorded Schumann's Dichterliebe and Liederkreis. He also recorded selections from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn and the Rückert, as well as Das Lied von der Erde.

      Although he was known primarily as a Wagnerian tenor, Jerusalem's repertoire also included Mozart and Italian operas. His Mozartean roles included Tamino in The Magic Flute and the title role in Idomeneo. He had a particular talent and fondness for Italian opera, notably for Verdi, and he had sung the tenor part in Verdi's Requiem.

      (DIANE LOIS WAY)

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