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The Argentinean baritone, Raúl Neumann, was born in Buenos Aires. His singing and repertoire studies were made under the direction of several teachers like Erik Werba, Maria Kallay, Leo Schwarz, Margarita Kenny, Helmuth Rilling, Wolfgang Schöne and Philippe Huttenlocher, among others. He won a scholarship in 1969 from the Foundation PAYS to improve in the interpretation of the German Lied with Erik Werba. In 1970 and 1975 was granted a scholarship by the Government of Brazil to attend the International Music Course of Curitiba, in whose music festival he performed as a guest in the Missa Solemnis by L.v. Beethoven, under the direction of Roberto Schnorrenberg. In 1981, at the invitation of Helmuth Rilling, he was granted a scholarship by the Fundación Teatro Colón to attend the International Bach Academy Summer Courses in Stuttgart, Germany. Again, in 1984, he won a scholarship by the International Bach Academy, with support from the Fundación Teatro Colón. In these courses he incorporated 20 cantatas of J.S. Bach to his repertoire, led by Helmuth Rilling, Wolfgang Schöne and Philippe Huttenlocher. In 1985 he won a scholarship by the Academia Bach de Buenos Aires to participate in the International Bach Academy courses performed in Buenos Aires, led by Helmuth Rilling and Mario Videla. He also acted as a german to spanish translator for the singing teacher Wolfgang Schöne.
From 1966 to 1992, Raúl Neumann joined the stable choir of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, acting also regularly as a soloist in operas and concerts. This relationship with the Theater is still maintained at present. In 1983 he joined the foundational cast of the Academia Bach de Buenos Aires, becoming a regular collaborator as a soloist in concerts and tours as well as translator for J.S. Bach’s cantatas texts, papers and musicology articles. He has sung, J. Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Felix Mendelssohn’s Eliah, Johannes Brahms Deutsches Requiem, L.v. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, J.S. Bach’s Magnificat (BWV 243), Johannes-Passion (BWV 245), Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244), H-moll Messe (BWV 232), Mozart’s Requiem, among many others.
Raúl Neumann has worked under the direction of musical conductors as Mario Benzecry, Simon Blech, Willhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg, Pedro Ignacio Calderon, Marco Faelli, Jorge Fontenla, Peter Maag, Julio Malaval, Rolf Reuter, Enrique Ricci, Helmuth Rilling, Antonio M. Russo, Mario Videla, Hans Wallat, Bernhard Wulff, Juan Carlos Zorzi, among others.
As a soloist at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires Raúl Neumann has assumed the roles of Nardo (La Finta Giardiniera, Mozart), Herrufer (Lohengrin, Wagner), Konrad Nachtigall (Meistersinger, Wagner), Moses (Apogee and Fall of Mahagonny, Kurt Weil), First Priest and Sprecher (Zauberflöte, Mozart), Don Fernando (Fidelio, L.v. Beethoven), Selim Bassa (Entführung aus dem Serrail, Mozart) and several others.
Raúl Neumann is considered a specialist in German Lied, featuring the most important cycles in his repertoire (Winterreise Op. 89 by F. Schubert, Romanzen aus Tiecks Magelone by Johannes Brahms, Dichterliebe Op. 48 by Robert Schumann, La Bonne Chanson by Gabriel Fauré, An die Ferne Geliebte by L.v. Beethoven, and so on). He also has been concerned for disseminating the work of contemporary Argentine and Latin American authors, some of whose works have been dedicated to him.
On March 2004 Raúl Neumann taught at the Graduate Seminar III (Interpretation, Singing) under the Master of Twentieth Century Latin American Music Performance at the National University of Mendoza. On November 2004 he taught a Course in Vocal and Performing Techniques at the National University of San Juan. Along with the psychologist Rosa Kass he has developed a new methodology in the teaching of singing, which implies an interdisciplinary approach to learning problems, creating a new methodology for teaching singing, transforming the dyad teacher/student in the triad teacher/psychologist/student. With her, Raúl Neumann launched a workshop aimed at students of singing and other musical disciplines, based on the above, which operated during the years 1994 and 1995. He was Professor of singing and Italian Phonetics on the Conservatorio Provincial de Morón and Professor of singing at the Conservatorio Provincial de San Martín. He is Professor of German Phonetics at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires, and Singing and German Phonetics Professor in the National Conservatory "Carlos López Buchardo" (Department of Musical Arts of the National University of Arts Institute).
Raúl Neumann has been distinguished with several prizes and awards. He has been repeatedly summoned as jury for singing competitions, among them the International Singing Competition Hans Gabor Belvedere. |
