Bayreuth mourns a German tenor
mainManfred Jung died in Essen on April 14 at the age of 76.
Hired by Hervert von Karajan for the 1975 Salzburg Easter Festival, he sang Siegfried in Götterdämmerung in Bayreuth’s centennial Ring, and went on to appear on many world stages.
Manfred Jung had an unusual career in that he first worked as a stage electrician before turning to singing. In the early 1970s he sang for several seasons in the Bayreuth Chorus before returning as a principal singer in 1977. I believe he may have been the only tenor to sing all the tenor roles in the Ring – Froh, Loge, both Mimes, Siegmund and both Siegfrieds. RIP
So he was the best stage electrician among tenors, and the best tenor among stage electricians!
Truly formidible if he managed to Ring the changes in those tenor rôles as well!
Windgassen also sang all four tenor roles in the Ring.
Pretty sure Windgassen never sang Mime…