Holzmair, Wolfgang (Friedrich)
Holzmair, Wolfgang (Friedrich)
Holzmair, Wolfgang (Friedrich), esteemed Austrian baritone; b. Vöcklabruck, April 24, 1952. He graduated from the Vienna Univ. of Economics but pursued training in voice with Rössl-Madjan and in lieder interpretation with Werba at the Vienna Academy of Music. After taking a prize at the 1982 International Song Competition of the Vienna Musikverein, he appeared in opera in Bern and Gelsenkirchen; also sang at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Zürich Opera, and the Vienna State Opera. In 1989 he made his London debut in a recital at the Wigmore Hall. His U.S. debut followed in 1992 as soloist in Mahler’s Rückert-Liederwith Dohnânyi and the Cleveland Orch. He made his N.Y. debut in 1993 in a recital at the Frick Museum, and that same year made his debut at London’s Covent Garden as Papageno; also appeared at the Salzburg Festival. Holzmair’s operatic repertoire includes Gluck’s Orfeo, Don Giovanni, Rossini’s Figaro, Eugene Onegin, Wolfram, Pélleas, and Wozzeck. His concert and oratorio repertoire is notably expansive, including works from all periods since the Baroque era, but he has become especially well known for his interpretations of Schubert and Mahler.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire