Opera Singer. An English baritone, he carved out his career almost entirely in contemporary German works. Raised in Surrey, he attended Brighton College then was a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge. While at the latter institution he was a founding member of the King's Singers, still a remarkably successful ensemble. Upon leaving Cambridge in 1965 Salter studied at the Royal College of music for two years then after further training in Vienna moved to Germany in 1971, remaining there until his death. Though quite able to sing 'classic' repertoire (in German) including the title leads of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni", Verdi's "Rigoletto" and Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi", he was most noted for more modern fare such as the title characters of Wolfgang Rihm's "Jakob Lenz" and Manfred Trojahn's "Enrico", K in Aribert Riemann's "Das Schloss", and the Magistrate from Philip Glass' "Waiting for the Barbarians". Though primarily based in Hamburg and Munich, he was a frequent guest in Berlin, Vienna, Brussels, and Paris while his native land was to see him but once, as Chorebus in a 1986 Opera North staging of Hector Berlioz' "The Trojans". He made his 1999 Carnegie Hall debut in Bernd Alois Zimmermann's "Requiem for a Young Poet". Salter was designated Kammersanger in 1994, taught in Munich, never retired, and died of a stroke the day before he was to begin rehearsals for a revival of Benjamin Britten's "Death in Venice". He left a significant legacy of recordings.
Opera Singer. An English baritone, he carved out his career almost entirely in contemporary German works. Raised in Surrey, he attended Brighton College then was a choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge. While at the latter institution he was a founding member of the King's Singers, still a remarkably successful ensemble. Upon leaving Cambridge in 1965 Salter studied at the Royal College of music for two years then after further training in Vienna moved to Germany in 1971, remaining there until his death. Though quite able to sing 'classic' repertoire (in German) including the title leads of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni", Verdi's "Rigoletto" and Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi", he was most noted for more modern fare such as the title characters of Wolfgang Rihm's "Jakob Lenz" and Manfred Trojahn's "Enrico", K in Aribert Riemann's "Das Schloss", and the Magistrate from Philip Glass' "Waiting for the Barbarians". Though primarily based in Hamburg and Munich, he was a frequent guest in Berlin, Vienna, Brussels, and Paris while his native land was to see him but once, as Chorebus in a 1986 Opera North staging of Hector Berlioz' "The Trojans". He made his 1999 Carnegie Hall debut in Bernd Alois Zimmermann's "Requiem for a Young Poet". Salter was designated Kammersanger in 1994, taught in Munich, never retired, and died of a stroke the day before he was to begin rehearsals for a revival of Benjamin Britten's "Death in Venice". He left a significant legacy of recordings.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Advertisement
See more Salter memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
