Biography
René Kollo (born 20 November 1937) is a German operatic tenor, especially known for his Wagnerian Heldentenor roles. He also performed a wide variety of operas and operettas, and made several recordings. Born René Kollodzieyski in Berlin, he 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 Oedipus 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 (La Scala, in Arabella, 1970; Das Rheingold, 1973; Fidelio, 1978; and Lohengrin, 1981), and Lisbon. He began his now legendary association with Wagner and his Heldentenor roles at the Bayreuth Festival in 1969, where he sang the Helmsman in Der fliegende Holländer. 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).
He has also directed Parsifal in Darmstadt in 1986 and Tiefland by Eugen d'Albert in Ulm in 1991.
He also has sung non-Wagnerian roles, including Hermann in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Florestan in Fidelio, Britten's Peter Grimes, and Verdi's Otello. In fact, he has an unusually wide repertoire for a Heldentenor. Other tenor roles he sang were that of Count Danilo, in Herbert von Karajan's 1972–1973 recording of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow, with Elizabeth Harwood and Teresa Stratas, and Prince Edwin in the 1971 film of Emmerich Kálmán's operetta Die Csárdásfürstin with Anna Moffo and Dagmar Koller.
Kollo has not confined himself to grand opera, but made many television appearances, singing lighter repertoire, including an operetta he composed himself. He has also composed and written text for numerous songs, following in the steps of both his father and his grandfather, who were operetta composers. He retired from singing in 2013 at the age of 75.
Filmography
all 78
self 58
TV Shows 50
Movies 28
Schlager-Spaß (2018)
Wer weiß denn sowas? (2015)
MDR um 4 (2014)
Ariadne Auf Naxos (2012)
Elektra (2010)
Wagner's Master Singer, Hitler's Siegfried - The Life and Times of Max (2008)
Arabella: Wiener Philharmoniker (2008)
Thadeusz (2005)
Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel (2004)
West.art am Sonntag (2003)
Dagmar Berghoffs Wunschkonzert (2001)
Die WIB-Schaukel (2001)
Menschen der Woche (2000)
Volle Kanne (1999)
Die Johannes B. Kerner Show (1998)
Leute heute (1997)
alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio (1994)
Die Feste mit Florian Silbereisen (1994)
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (1993)
Meeting Venus (1991)
Musik liegt in der Luft (1991)
DAS! (1991)
Deutsche Weihnacht (1989)
Flitterabend (1988)
Nachtcafé (1987)
ZDF-Fernsehgarten (1986)
Da Capo (1986)
Weißblaue Geschichten (1984)
Tristan und Isolde (1983)
Bernstein Beethoven The Piano Concertos (1982)
Wortwechsel (1982)
Wetten, dass..? (1981)
Tag des deutschen Schlagers (1981)
Heut' abend (1980)
Die Pyramide (1979)
NDR Talk Show (1979)
Beethoven Fidelio (1978)
SOKO 5113 (1978)
The Berliner Philharmoniker’s New Year’s Eve Concert: 1977 (1977)
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (1977)
Auf los geht's los (1977)
Bernstein Mahler Rehearsal (1976)
Kölner Treff (1976)
Prodaná nevěsta (1976)
The Unanswered Question I : Musical Phonology (1976)
Ein Walzer zu zweien (1975)
Die schöne Helena (1975)
Musik ist Trumpf (1975)
III nach neun (1974)
The Land of Smiles (1974)
Der große Preis (1974)
Gräfin Mariza (1974)
Wiener Blut (1972)
Das Lied von der Erde: A Personal Introduction (1972)
Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre (1971)
Gypsy Princess (1971)
Dalli Dalli (1971)
Drei mal neun (1970)
Erkennen Sie die Melodie? (1970)
ZDF Werkstatt (1970)
Unsere kleine Show (1969)
Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten (1969)
Von uns für Sie (1966)
Goldene Kamera Verleihung (1966)
Gut gefragt ist halb gewonnen (1964)
Musikauktion (1964)
Die Drehscheibe (1964)
Einer wird gewinnen (1964)
Ein Lied für Kopenhagen (1964)
Zwischenmahlzeit (1963)
So liebt und küsst man in Tirol (1961)
Musik aus Studio B (1961)
Solang noch Untern Linden (1958)
Zum blauen Bock (1957)
Was bin ich? (1955)
Ouverture 1912 - The Deutsche Oper Berlin
Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos
Seeing Through the Mists of Oblivion
Ratings
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1937-11-20 (86 years old)
Birth PlaceBerlin, Germany
FatherWilli Kollo
CitizenshipsGermany
Also Known AsRené Viktor Kollodzieyski
AwardsCross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Paul-Lincke-Ring, Goldene Stimmgabel, Berliner Bär
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