Peter Schreier

Peter Schreier was born on July 29, 1935 in Meißen, Germany. He was married to Renate.

In June 1945, when Schreier was almost ten years old, and just a few months after the destruction of Dresden, he entered the boarding school of the famous Dresden boys' choir, the Dresdner Kreuzchor (Choir of the Kreuzkirche or Church of the Cross). The choir had just been re-established. The young Peter and the few other choir members and teachers lived in a cellar in the outskirts of Dresden.

Solo recordings of Peter Schreier were made at the time (1948-1951) and are obtainable on compact disc even today.

Peter Schreier made his professional debut in August 1959, playing the role of the First Prisoner in Fidelio by Beethoven. In the years that followed he was successful as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Abduction from the Seraglio) and somewhat later as Tamino in The Magic Flute, both operas by Mozart.

In 1963, he was employed by the Berlin State Opera at Unter den Linden. Starting in 1966, he was for many years an annual guest of the Vienna State Opera. That same year he made his debut in Bayreuth as the young seaman in Tristan und Isolde with Karl Böhm as conductor.

For 25 years, beginning in 1967, he took part in the program of the annual Salzburg Festival.

In 1969, he starred as The Witch in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, in a CD recording that featured the Staatskapelle Dresden.

From 1970, Schreier was also a conductor with a special interest in the works of Mozart, J.S. Bach, and Haydn. During his singing career, in the performances of Bach's oratorios, he would often combine the roles of Evangelist and conductor.

In June 2000, Schreier left the opera stage. His last role was Prince Tamino in The Magic Flute; he argued that he could no longer act as if he were still a young prince.

He ended his singing career on 22 December 2005, combining the roles of evangelist and conductor in a performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in Prague.