Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was born on May 28, 1925 in Berlin, Germany as Albert Dietrich Fischer.

He was born to Dr. Albert Fischer, a classical scholar, and secondary school principal and his second wife, Theodora Klingelhoffer, a schoolteacher. In 1934, his father added the hyphenated Dieskau to the family name. His mother had been a Von Dieskau descended from the Kammerherr Von Dieskau for whom J.S. Bach wrote the "Peasant Cantanta." He was the youngest of three sons.

When he was drafted into the Wehrmacht during World War II, in 1943, Fischer-Dieskau had just completed his secondary school studies and one semester at the Berlin Conservatory. He was captured in Italy in 1945 and spent two years as an American prisoner of war. During that time, he sang Lieder in POW camps to homesick German soldiers.

His mother's apartment in Lichertfelde was bombed and he was allowed home leave to help her. They only had a handcart full of possessions moved to a friend's apartment. He was not sent to Russian front but to Italy with thousands of other German Soldiers. On May 5, 1945, he was captured and imprisoned by the Allies. During this time, he entertained the American Allies and other Prisoners of War. They were so pleased with his music that they kept him until June 1947. He was among the last German soldiers to be repatriated.

At 22 years old after World War II in 1947, he returned to the Berlin Conservatory but he never completed his voice studies.

As an opera singer, Fischer-Dieskau performed mainly in Berlin and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, at the Hamburg State Opera, in Japan, and at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh, during the Edinburgh Festival. His first tour in the United States took place in 1955, when he was 29, with his concert debut in Cincinnati on 15 April (J. S. Bach's Kreuzstab cantata ) and 16 April (Ein Deutsches Requiem). His American Lieder debut, singing Franz Schubert songs, took place in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on 19 April. His New York City debut occurred on 2 May at The Town Hall, where he sang Schubert's song cycle Winterreise without intermission. Both American recitals were accompanied by pianist Gerald Moore.

He married his childhood sweetheart and cellist, Irmgard Poppen. They had three sons; Mathias Fischer-Dieskau, a stage designer; Martin Fischer-Dieskau, a conductor; and Manuel Fischer-Dieskau, a cellist. She died from complications following Manuel's birth in 1963.

He was awarded 2 Grammy Awards in 1971 for "Schubert Lieder" and in 1973 for Brahms's "Schone Magelone.".

He retired from the opera in 1978 but kept performing until New Year's Day in 1993 when he announced his retirement from the stage.

He regularly sold out concert halls all over the world until his retirement at the end of 1992. The precisely articulated accuracy of his performances, in which text and music were presented as equal partners, established standards that endure today. The current widespread interest in German Romantic art song is mainly due to his efforts. Perhaps most admired as a singer of Schubert Lieder, Fischer-Dieskau had, according to critic Joachim Kaiser, only one really serious competitor - himself, as over the decades he set new standards, explored new territories and expressed unanticipated feelings and emotions.

Ripley (1999) and Elektra (1981). He was married to Julia Varady, Christina Pugel-Schule, Ruth Leuwerik and Irmgard Poppen.

He was an actor, known for Children of Men (2006), The Talented Mr.