Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld

Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld (July 2, 1836 – July 21, 1865) was a German Heldentenor and the creator of the role of Tristan in Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde. His career was curtailed by a serious illness which killed him at the age of 29, after only four performances in the role of Tristan.

Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld was born in Munich, a son of the famous painter Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Later, he became a pupil of Kreuzschule in Dresden, home of the Dresdner Kreuzchor (choir). This may have influenced his decision not to follow the family tradition of becoming a professional painter but to study singing instead, and he took voice lessons at the Leipzig Conservatory.

He made his début in 1858 at Karlsruhe. By 1860, he had also sung at the Semperoper in Dresden and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, appearing in Bellini's Norma and Weber's Der Freischütz. He soon gained fame as an intelligent and dedicated singer, with a strong voice especially suited to operatic works by Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi.

In 1860, Schnorr married the Danish-born soprano Malvina Garrigues, who was ten years his senior and who reduced her own appearances on stage in order to support her husband's more promising career.

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