René Kollo

René Kollo (born November 20, 1937) is a German tenor, especially known for his Wagnerian parts. In addition to Heldentenor roles, he performed in a wide variety of operas and operettas during his career. Kollo also made several operatic recordings.

He was born René Kollodzieyski in Berlin, Germany and grew up in Wyk auf Föhr. He attended a photography school in Hamburg, although he had always been interested in music, particularly conducting. He did not begin to perform (as a self-taught drummer) until the mid-50s. He played in jazz clubs and studied acting with Else Bongers in Berlin. To prepare for musical roles, he studied with Elsa Varena, who quickly recognized that he had an unusual gift.

He signed his first recording contract at 20 and recorded popular hits. He made his operatic debut in Braunschweig in 1965 in three Stravinsky one-act operas: Mavra, Renard, and Œdipus Rex. He stayed in Braunschweig for two years, singing most of the lyric tenor repertoire. In 1967, he went to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, still singing lyric roles.

He was guest soloist in Munich, Frankfurt, Milan, and Lisbon. He began his now legendary association with Wagner and his Heldentenor roles at Bayreuth in 1969, where he sang the Helmsman in The Flying Dutchman. The major Wagnerian roles followed in quick succession: Erik in 1970, Lohengrin in 1971, Walter in 1973, Parsifal in 1975, Siegfried in 1976, Tristan and Tannhäuser in 1981. He has since sung these roles at major opera houses throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, where he was seen in Lohengrin (1976, conducted by James Levine) and Ariadne auf Naxos (1979).

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