Horst Laubenthal & Erik Werba
Biography Horst Laubenthal & Erik Werba
Horst Laubenthal
Actually Horst Neumann. He completed seven years of vocal and musical studies in Munich. He was the only student of the famous heldentenor Rudolf Laubenthal (1886-1971), who adopted him. Thus, he performed under the name Horst R. Laubenthal throughout his career. He made his debut in 1967 at the Würzburg Mozart Festival as Don Ottavio in "Don Giovanni." In 1968, he became a member of the Stuttgart State Opera, where he enjoyed a very successful career. From 1973, he was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Here, as well as during guest appearances at leading European theaters, he became known primarily as a Mozart interpreter, but he also sang a wide variety of other lyric tenor roles. He appeared as a guest artist at the Vienna, Hamburg, and Munich State Operas; at the Bayreuth Festival in 1970, he sang the Steersman in "The Flying Dutchman" and Kunz Vogelsang in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg." From 1973 to 1974, he was a guest at the Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, in 1972 at the Glyndebourne Festival as Belmonte in "The Abduction from the Seraglio," in 1977 at the Paris Opera, and in 1985 in Turin as Tamino in "The Magic Flute." In 1987, he returned to the Teatro Regio in Turin, this time as Don Ottavio in "Don Giovanni." His concert career was almost even more significant. Here he distinguished himself as an oratorio soloist and lieder singer, and was particularly regarded as a gifted Bach interpreter. He performed as a soloist in Mozart and church concerts at the Salzburg Festival from 1973 to 1978 (including Mozart's Mass in C minor), and in 1968 he sang a role in Mozart's "Zaide" there. He later held a professorship at the Würzburg University of Music. Married to mezzo-soprano Marga Schiml (born 1945).
