Lorenz was born in
Düsseldorf, and studied with
Ernst Grenzebach in Berlin in the 1920s. He later was a pupil of
Estelle Liebling in New York City. He made his debut at the
Semperoper in Dresden in 1927, becoming a principal tenor. From 1929 to 1944 he was a member of the ensemble at the
Berlin State Opera, appearing also at the New York
Metropolitan Opera (1931–1934), the
Bayreuth Festspielhaus (1933–1939, 1952, 1954) and the
Royal Opera House Covent Garden (1934 and 1937). He sang, too, at the
Vienna State Opera (1929–1933, 1936–1944, 1954). Audiences at the
Salzburg Festival also heard him, and he created roles in such post-World War II works as
Gottfried von Einem’s
Der Prozess (Josef K, 1953),
Rolf Liebermann’s
Penelope (1954) and
Rudolf Wagner-Régeny’s
Das Bergwerk zu Falun (1961). Lorenz's operatic and recital career lasted almost three decades. He became known as one of the world's leading heldentenors, particularly renowned for his performances as
Tristan. At the height of his career in the 1930s and 1940s, Lorenz possessed a powerful, ringing, impassioned voice. Many of his recordings of operatic arias are now available online. Notably, he was recorded live in a performance of
Die Meistersinger at the
Bayreuth Festival (1943), under the baton of Furtwängler; and, in a performance of
Götterdämmerung, also at Bayreuth (1952), under the baton of
Josef Keilberth. He was also a notable
Otello,
Bacchus and
Herod. == Personal life ==