Heinz Zednik
Heinz Zednik was born in Vienna, where he studied voice at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien. His first engagement was in 1964 at the Opernhaus Graz. Only a year later, he was hired by the Wiener Staatsoper and was conferred the Kammersänger title in 1980, becoming an honorary member of the opera house in 1994.
The tenor has been a guest performer at the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Scala in Milan, in Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Teatro San Carlo Neapel, the Opéra de Paris, the Zurich Opernhaus, Oper Frankfurt, the Berliner Staatsoper, the Stuttgarter Staatsoper, and the Bayerische Staatsoper München.
From 1970 to 1980, Heinz Zednik performed annually at the Bayreuther Festspiele, interpreting roles such as Steuermann, David, Mime, and Loge. He became a regular guest at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals in 1980. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1981 as Mime in Das Rheingold and returned to that house numerous times through 1998 in such roles as Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro, the Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos, Monostatos, Pedrillo, and Prince Shuisky in Boris Godunov.
Furthermore, he played Mime in the 1990 PBS broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera, for the largest viewing-audience of the Ring in history.
Heinz Zednik’s repertoire of parts encompasses around 100 operatic roles, enriched by regular concert and oratorio appearances and by recording numerous opera, operetta, and Lied CDs. He has presented an Austrian radio show for many years now, and creates portrayals of singers.
Heinz Zednik has been a guest professor at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and enjoyed holding musical drama seminars at the Karajan Center and the Wiener Meisterkurse. In addition, Heinz Zednik has become increasingly active as a director throughout the world.
In the Lied genre, Mr. Zednik has attained an impressive chamber music repertoire with classical, contemporary, and especially Vienna Lied songs.
Heinz Zednik has been decorated with the Cross of Honor for Science and the Arts, and has received the Fedelio Medal from Aldo, the international association of the world’s major opera houses, for his exceptional artistic achievements and his close bond with the Wiener Staatsoper. He won two Grammy Awards, in 1982 and 1989, both for recording Wagner roles.
Source: https://www.machreich-artists.com/en/artist/heinz-zednik
