Günther Treptow

Who was Günther Treptow?

Günther Treptow was a German operatic tenor, best known for Wagner roles.

Treptow began his vocal studies at the Berlin Musikhochschule, and later in Milan with Giovanni Scarmeo. Treptow was a member of the SA and Nazi Party until the discovery in 1934 of his mother's Jewish heritage. He was banned from performing until being granted special permission to do so from Josef Goebbels on June 6, 1935. He made his stage debut in Berlin, as the Italian singer in Der Rosenkavalier, in 1936. He sang at the Vienna Volksoper in 1938, as Florestan in Fidelio. He appeared at the Sopot Festival in 1939, in the title role of Tannhäuser. He made his debut at the Munich State Opera in 1940, the Vienna State Opera in 1947, and the Bayreuth Festival in 1951.

He quickly established himself as one of the leading heldentenors of his generation, in roles such as Siegmund in Die Walküre, Siegfried in Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, and Tristan in Tristan und Isolde. Besides Wagner, he also sang such roles as Max in Der Freischütz, Steva in Jenůfa, Canio in Pagliacci, and the title role in Otello.

On the international scene, he made guest appearances at La Scala in Milan, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Royal Opera House in London, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, also appearing in Leningrad and Moscow.