Biography:

Eike Wilm Schulte (13 October 1939 – 31 October 2025) was a German operatic baritone. A member of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and from 1988 of the Bayerische Staatsoper, he made an international career, singing more than 100 roles at major opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, and at festivals including the Bayreuth Festival. He participated in several premieres of contemporary opera.

Life and career

Schulte was born in Plettenberg on 13 October 1939. He studied voice at the Musikhochschule Köln, with Josef Metternich and Clemens Glettenberg, among others.[1] He made his debut on stage at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1966 as Sid in Britten’s Albert Herring. From 1969, Schulte was a member of the Theater Bielefeld, where he appeared as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, as Germont in La Traviata and in the leading role of Alfred Ill in Gottfried von Einem’s Der Besuch der alten Dame, opposite Martha Mödl in the title role.[2] From 1973 to 1988 Schulte was a member of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where he performed major baritone roles, from Mozart (Guglielmo in Così fan tutte) to Wagner (Telramund in Lohengrin),[3] Marcel in Puccini’s La Bohème,[4] Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Mirakel in Hoffmanns Erzählungen, alongside Hermin Esser in the title role, Elizabeth Parcells as Olympia and Gail Gilmore as Niklaus,[5] and the Pharao in Rossini’s Mosè, with Nadine Secunde.[6] He performed contemporary operas such as premieres by Volker David Kirchner.[3] From 1988 he was a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper. During his career, he performed more than a hundred different roles.[7]

He appeared as a guest at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and the Liceu in Barcelona, among others.[2] Schulte performed at the Bayreuth Festival, beginning in 1988 as the Heerrufer in Lohengrin, and from 1992 as Wolfram von Eschenbach in Tannhäuser,[2] and in 1998 he stepped in as Gunther in Götterdämmerung, singing but not acting.[8] Throughout his career, he took part in contemporary opera. In 1969, he sang in the world premiere of Giselher Klebe’s Das Märchen von der schönen Lilie at the Schwetzingen Festival in the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen. He appeared in operas by Volker David Kirchner, as Henrik in Die Trauung in Wiesbaden in 1974, as Babel in Die fünf Minuten des Isaak Babel in Wuppertal in 1980, and as Ezechiel in Das kalte Herz in Wiesbaden in 1981.[2] Schulte appeared in recitals and concerts.[2] He appeared in live recordings as the Heerrufer from Bayreut, [9] and as Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg from Deutsche Oper Berlin.[10]

Schulte died on 31 October 2025, at the age of 86.[11]

Credits: