Liebl, Karl

Opera singer (tenor), teacher

Born: 16.06.1915 in Schiltberg (near Augsburg)

died: 19.01.2007 in Wiesbaden

In the era of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden after the Second World War and the newly founded International May Festival, Liebl was one of the great singing personalities. He was initially a primary school teacher. After the end of the war, he studied singing in Munich and Augsburg alongside his profession and made his debut at the Regensburg City Theater in 1950.

In 1951, artistic director Heinrich Köhler-Helffrich engaged him as a young heldentenor. Liebl settled in Wiesbaden. Despite his numerous international engagements, he remained associated with the theater as a member of the ensemble until 1968. His performances in the great Wagner roles, such as Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tristan, Parsifal and Siegfried, were legendary. He embodied leading roles in many other operas such as Pfitzner's "Palestrina" (a favorite role), Richard Strauss' "Salome" and "Frau ohne Schatten" or Verdi's "Aida" and "Othello".

After the end of his singing career, Liebl first became a lecturer at the Wiesbaden Conservatory in 1968, and soon afterwards Professor of Singing and Speech Education in the Department of Music Education at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz until 1985.

As a heldentenor, Liebl was a nationally and internationally sought-after and celebrated representative of his field. Engagements and guest performance contracts took him to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Cologne Opera and other important stages in Europe and the USA. His 1958 Tristan performance in Chicago with Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005) in the title role under the direction of Artur Rodziński (1892-1958) became legendary. Rudolf Bing (1902-1997), then head of the Metropolitan Opera, brought Liebl to New York, where he made his debut as Lohengrin on November 2, 1959 and sang in 57 performances over nine seasons until 1968.

Liebl's final resting place is in the cemetery in Wiesbaden-Sonnenberg.