Status: 20.12.2023, 12:01 p.m.
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Gunther Emmerlich, singer, comes to the award ceremony of the "Golden Hen". © Jan Woitas/dpa/Archivbild
His sonorous bass has been present in concerts, opera and TV. Age has not stopped Kammersänger Gunther Emmerlich from the stage or screen - now his audience has to say goodbye forever.
Dresden - The singer and entertainer Gunther Emmerlich has died. He died unexpectedly of heart failure on Tuesday at the age of 79 in a home in Dresden, as his manager Gunter Grebler told the German Press Agency on Wednesday. The MDR had first reported.
Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer and Culture Minister Barbara Klepsch (both CDU) were shocked by the news and paid tribute to Emmerlich as a "great artist". The actor and cabaret artist Wolfgang Stumph also reacted with dismay. "It breaks my heart, it's unbelievable," the 77-year-old told the German Press Agency. "I am losing a great friend, a great support on my way, a role model." Emmerlich only saw his high artistic standards fulfilled "if he was credible, authentic and publicly convincing with his very personal manner".
Singing, directing, moderating, an excursion into acting and, most recently, audio books - Emmerlich's trump card was diversity. He has written three books about his life. Born in Eisenberg (Thuringia) in 1944, Bass wanted to become a pilot or go to sea as a boy, but then studied opera singing at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar after training as a civil engineer.
In 1972 he was hired by the junior studio of the Dresden Opera - shortly afterwards he was accepted into the ensemble. In addition, the banjo player and jazz singer founded the Semper HouseBand in 1985 with like-minded musicians from the Staatskapelle. From 1987 onwards, Emmerlich conquered the TV screen in the GDR and even stood up to Thomas Gottschalk's "Wetten, dass...?" in the West with "Showkolade" - a mix of glitter, contemporary criticism and cabaret.
In 1992 he terminated his contract with the Semperoper in order to work freely. With programmes such as "Take Your Time", "Gunther and Beyond" and "Zauberhafte Heimat" he became a favourite of German television viewers in East and West. In 2008 he made his successful debut with the opera singer Deborah Sasson at New York's Carnegie Hall. His musical repertoire ranged from church music to song cycles, arias and duets to Dixieland and swing. In 2015 he made his debut in an operetta at the Bad Hersfeld Festival.
Since then, he has been a regular guest in East Germany with his own program and appeared on television. According to a close friend, he was still present at the recording of a Christmas concert on Sunday. On Wednesday evening, "we can all watch his last recorded show together on MDR and say goodbye to him," his manager wrote.
"A very sad news shortly before Christmas," said Prime Minister Kretschmer, according to a statement from the State Chancellery. With him, "we have lost a great entertainer and gifted opera singer. He embodied the Saxon joie de vivre and brought it closer to people all over Germany." With his voice, his wit and charm, he touched and inspired people. And he was "a unique artist" who was always committed to helping others, "encouraging others and giving them hope" in benefit concerts and performances. Minister of Culture Klepsch was "deeply affected", paid tribute to Emmerlich as a great artist, opera singer and popular figure in Saxony and also recalled his social commitment. Dpa