Biography

A light-voiced tenor with a sensuous sound and a trim, handsome appearance, Hans Peter Blochwitz made a somewhat late debut in opera, but quickly rose to the top level of Austro-German lyric tenors. His thoroughness and accuracy as a musician brought engagements with the most fastidious conductors and he secured a place among those artists well suited to Bach and Handel, as well as Mozart. In addition to opera and orchestral concert work, Blochwitz soon found himself in demand as a Lieder singer. After studies at both Mainz and Frankfort, Blochwitz graduated with a doctorate in computer science. By the time of his debut as Lenski, he was nearly 36, but engagements were almost immediately proffered from major European houses. When Peter Schreier, one of the era's leading Don Ottavios, conducted his first Don Giovanni, he chose Blochwitz for the role in the 1987 Hamburg production. His suitability for Mozart tenor roles placed him in demand with such theaters as Vienna, La Scala, Paris (both the Bastille and Châtelet), Zürich, Brussels, Covent Garden, San Francisco, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, as well as in San Francisco and San Diego. During the 1990 - 1991 season, Blochwitz made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera (again in the role of Don Ottavio). The Salzburg Festival also beckoned and his first appearance there during that same season was as Belmonte in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Two other parts with which he became closely identified were undertaken in 1992 - 1993. At Frankfurt, he sang Tito in La clemenza di Tito, and for Zürich, he introduced his Flamand in Strauss' Capriccio. Despite his successes in music of the eighteenth century, Blochwitz has not neglected works of his own time. His repertory has included works by Britten, Henze (Der junge Lord), and Martin. He was chosen to premier Hans Zender's adaptation of Schubert's Die Winterreise and subsequently recorded the work. Blochwitz's song recitals have been heard worldwide from London's Wigmore Hall to Japan. On recording, he has collaborated with conductors as diverse as Levine, Chailly, and Harnoncourt.