At the age of 79 - Heart failure - Singer and entertainer Gunther Emmerlich has died
The singer and entertainer Gunther Emmerlich is dead. He died unexpectedly on Tuesday at the age of 79 at home in Dresden from heart failure, as his manager Gunter Grebler told the German Press Agency on Wednesday. The MDR had first reported.
Singing, directing, presenting, a foray into acting and, most recently, audio books - his trump card was diversity. He has written three books about his life. Born in Eisenberg (Thuringia) in 1944, the 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.
Emmerlich even gave "Wetten, dass...?" a run for its money
In 1972, he was hired by the young talent studio of the Dresden Opera, and shortly afterwards he joined the ensemble. The banjo player and jazz singer also founded the Semper House Band in 1985 with like-minded musicians from the Staatskapelle. From 1987, Emmerlich conquered the TV screen in the GDR and even rivaled 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 freelance. With shows such as "Nimm Dir Zeit", "Gunther und drüber" and "Zauberhafte Heimat", he then became a favorite of German television viewers in East and West. In 2008, he made his successful debut with opera singer Deborah Sasson at New York's Carnegie Hall. His musical repertoire ranges 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.
His most recent appearance is currently being broadcast on MDR
Since then, he has made regular guest appearances with his own program in eastern Germany 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 program together on MDR and say goodbye to him," wrote his manager.
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- Gunter Grebler, who was Gunther Emmerlich's manager, shared the news of his death with the German Press Agency.
- Gunther Emmerlich started his career at the Opera in Dresden, where he was hired by the young talent studio in 1972.
- Despite his heart failure, Gunther Emmerlich was still present at the recording of a Christmas concert on Sunday before his passing.
- Viewers in Thuringia can pay their final tributes to Gunther Emmerlich by watching his last recorded program on MDR this evening.
Source: www.stern.de
