Prey, Hermann

Opera singer (baritone)

born: 11.07.1929 in Berlin

died: 22.07.1998 in Krailling

Prey's great singing role models were Heinrich Schlusnus (1888-1952) and later the baritone Jaro Prohaska (1891-1965), who was engaged at the Berlin Opera. After studying singing at the Berlin Academy of Music, Prey was engaged by the Hessian State Theater in Wiesbaden in 1952 after winning the Nuremberg Meistersinger Competition.

In this first engagement, which lasted only seven and a half months, he was only given smaller roles as a beginner; larger ones were the Heerrufer in Wagner's "Lohengrin" and roles in Puccini's operas, such as Schaunard in "Bohème" (the Wiesbadener Tagblatt commented here: "Prey's acting must be disciplined by the director") and the role of Chancellor Ping in "Turandot". Helge Roswaenge sang Calaf as a guest in this production.

Special mention was made in Prey's memoirs of Wiesbaden's General Music Director Karl Elmendorff, whom he described as a reliable leading singer-conductor who had been "washed in all the waters of musical theater". In his autobiography "Premierenfieber", he wrote that he "wouldn't miss these theater experiences from Wiesbaden for the world."