Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music.[ Kammersänger PONS Online Dictionary] It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or kings, when it was styled Hofkammersänger(in), where Hof refers to the royal court.
The title is given in Germany and in Austria usually on the recommendation of relevant national and local institutions.
Similar titles are ,[ Ehrentitel Kammervirtuose, Dresden 2023]
Titles and recipients
Austria
- Österreichischer Kammersänger / Österreichische Kammersängerin
The honorary title is awarded by the Federal President of Austria on the proposal of the responsible Federal Minister since 1971.
Germany
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Lilli Lehmann (1876)
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Elise Kutscherra de Nyss (Coburg, 1894)
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Gerhard Unger (1952)
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Theo Adam (1955)
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Anny Schlemm (Frankfurt, 1963)
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Sigrid Kehl (Leipzig, 1963)
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Hans-Dieter Bader (Hanover, 1981)
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Alfred Vökt (Frankfurt, 1989)
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Günter Wewel (Dortmund, 1989)
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Hermann Becht (1992)
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(Frankfurt, 1993)
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Axel Köhler (Halle, 1998)
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Klaus Schneider (Karlsruhe, 2003)
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Linda Watson (Düsseldorf, 2004)
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Doris Soffel (Cologne, 2007)
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Hans-Otto Weiß (Mainz, 2010)
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Eike Wilm Schulte (Wiesbaden, 2010)
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Winfrid Mikus (Heidelberg, 2011)
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Roland Hartmann (Meiningen, 2011)
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Romelia Lichtenstein (Halle, 2012)
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Hannes Brock (Dortmund, 2012)
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Jörg Sabrowski (Kiel, 2012)
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Thomas de Vries (Wiesbaden, 2014)
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Jochen Kupfer (Nürnberg, 2016)
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Thomas Jesatko (Mannheim, 2016)
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(Erfurt, 2017)
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Jeffrey Dowd (Essen, 2019)
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Claudia Mahnke (Frankfurt, 2021)
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Christina Clark (Essen, 2022)
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Marie-Helen Joël (Essen, 2022)
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Rainer Maria Röhr (Essen, 2022)
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Wilfried Staber (Heidelberg, 2022)
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Morgan Moody (Dortmund, 2023)
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(Hanover, 2023)
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Frank Schneiders (Hanover, 2023)
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Jürgen Rust (Mainz)
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Wilma Schmidt (Hanover)
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Vilma Fichtmüller
Berlin
- Berliner Kammersänger / Berliner Kammersängerin
The honorary title has been given by the Senate of Berlin since 1962.
In the reunified Berlin, from 1990 to 2010, 17 singers have received this honor.
Bavaria
- Bayerischer Kammersänger / Bayerische Kammersängerin
The title has been awarded by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture since 1955 for outstanding artistic achievements to singing soloists of the Bavarian State Opera, the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz and the Staatstheater Nürnberg.
, more than 130 artists have been honoured.
The prerequisite is at least five years of membership in an ensemble at a state theater or regular guest appearances.
Hamburg
- Hamburger Kammersänger / Hamburger Kammersängerin
Since 1961, the title has been given by the Hamburg Senate.
, it has been awarded 28 times since 1928.
Saxony
- Sächsischer Kammersänger / Sächsische Kammersängerin
The title has been for members of the ensembles of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the Landesbühnen Sachsen since 1998.
Baden-Württemberg
- Baden-Württembergischer Kammersänger / Baden-Württembergische Kammersängerin
Sweden and Denmark
The equivalent designation in Sweden and Denmark are respectively
hovsångare (male) or
hovsångerska (female) and
kongelige kammersangere.
