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The German tenor, Martin Petzold, received his first musical training as a member of the Thomanerchor in his hometown of Leipzig. He studied singing from 1979 to 1985 at the Leipzig University for Music and Theatre ‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’ with Mrs. Professor Eva Schubert and later with Bernd Siegfried Weber.
After the state examination in the 1985, Martin Petzold received a permanent engagement at the National Theatre of Halle. Since 1986 (or 1988) he was a permanent member of the ensemble of the Leipzig Opera, where he performed over 80 roles to great acclaim. His operatic repertoire includes, among other things, David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Pedrillo in W.A. Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Flaut in Ein Sommernachtstraum and Iwan in Die Nase.
In addition to his work in the opera, Martin Petzold maintains a close working relationship with Thomanerchor Leipzig and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. He is also connected with such orchestras and choirs as the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Freiburger Baroque Orchestra, Dresdner Kreuzchor and Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg. Numerous concert performances led him throughout Europe, the USA, to Israel, Japan, Korea, China and Central and South America. In particular, His interpretations of the works of J.S. Bach, of the Evangelist part J.S. Bach (led by Georg Christoph Biller, Peter Schreier and Kurt Masur, not only received worldwide recognition but served as the focal point of his music making. The opera, oratorio and concert singer had a wide repertoire that includes the works of composers spanning all musical genres. Martin Petzold was greatly influenced by his engagements with such renowned conductors as Georg Christoph Biller, Riccardo Chailly, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Ton Koopman, Kurt Masur, Yehudi Menuhin, Kent Nagano, Helmuth Rilling, Ulf Schirmer, and Peter Schreier among others. He is a much welcomed guest at many European opera houses including the Opera Theatre in Basel, where he repeatedly worked together with director Herbert Wernicke. In addition, he performed at the Semper Opera in Dresden, the Hamburg State Opera, Opera Messina Sicily, Royal Opera House Lisbon, Royal Opera Madrid, and for many years at the Stuttgart State Opera. As a concert singer as well as recitalist, he made lasting impressions in the world’s music centers including in Leipzig's Gewandhaus, Berlin Philharmonic, Cologne Philharmonic, Stuttgart Liederhalle, Gasteig Munich, Hamburg Laeiszhalle, Tonhalle Zürich, Vienna Musikverein, Teatro Communale di Bologna, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Palau Musica Catalana in Barcelona, at the Edinburgh Festival Theater, as well as in Milan, Rome, Seoul, New York, Chicago, Sao Paolo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and San Jose in Costa Rica among many others.
Numerous radio, TV, CD and DVD productions document Martin Petzold's extensive musical career. Among others, these include the part of the evangelist in J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) with the Thomanerchor Leipzig in the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Monastatos in W.A. Mozarts Die Zauberflöte under Arnold Oestmann at L’Orseau de Lyre and Das Wunder der Heliane by Erich Wolfgang Korngold to name a few. In addition, he played a leading role in the Decca series “Entarte Musik” with Lothar Zagrosek and John Mauceri. He recorded CD’' for Philips Classics, Decca, Ram Records, for Japanese labels as well as for Apollon Classics, Rondeau, Querstand and Bavaria Sonor.
For many years, Martin Petzold shared his vast experience with young singers in master-classes, which concern particularly the interpretation of the music J.S. Bach. In 2001, he was appointed “Kammersaenger,” a title awarded to a singer of outstanding merit. In December 2012, the feature film production of Ludwig II was premiered, with Martin Petzold as the old Lohengrin. With their recent ‘Bach in Jazz’, the strict classical singer and the improvising instrumentalists of the Stephan-König-Trio paved a new way to the music of J.S. Bach. The vocal experiment enjoyed both national and international praise and attention. Furthermore, the preservation of German folk music was always one of Martin Petzold’s great personal priorities and therefore, in 2009 he released the highly acclaimed CD “Verstohlen geht der Mond auf,” and then in 2014, a collection of German Christmas Carols ‘Weinachten zu Hause’ with guitar accompaniment. As an illustrator and caricaturist, Martin Petzold’s work was commissioned by such publishing houses as the Mabuse-Verlag in Frankfurt am Main, C.F. Mueller Verlag in Heidelberg, Evangelische Verlagsanstalt/Leipzig, Phonus Verlag/Leipzig and Kamprad Verlag/Altenburg.
Martin Petzold was also an acclaimed voice teacher. Among his pupils and/or singers who have attended his master-classes: Alice Ungerer (Soprano). |
