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Eleven-year-old Leo Eisenreich sings Wagner’s Forest Bird in Munich
The Tölz Boys Choir soloist shares the role in the Bavarian State Opera’s Siegfried.
An eleven-year-old singer is giving voice to one of the most elusive characters in Wagner’s Siegfried at the Bavarian State Opera. Leo Eisenreich, a soloist with the Tölz Boys Choir, appears as the Forest Bird in the Munich production and is scheduled to return on November 4.
He shares performances with another choir member, distributing the demands of the operatic schedule. Eisenreich is also a pupil at the Camerloher Gymnasium in Freising, placing this professional appearance alongside his continuing school education.
The Forest Bird has a small but consequential role in Siegfried. Its voice guides the hero, creating a distinctive contrast with the opera’s larger dramatic figures. Casting a young singer brings a particular vocal colour to that musical presence.
Eisenreich comes from a family active in music. His mother, Martina Eisenreich, is a composer whose work includes film scores. His father, Wolfgang Lohmeier, is a drummer, percussionist and music producer. Martina Eisenreich described hearing her son at the Nationaltheater among Wagner’s characters as a special family experience.
The family also has its own performance plans. Leo is due to join his brothers Emil and Ferdinand in four concerts with Martina Eisenreich during November and December. Dates are announced for Amerang Castle on November 28, Erding’s Stadthalle on December 6, St Peter and Paul in Neufahrn on December 18 and Rockermayer in Unterpindhart on December 20.
Those events place the opera appearance within a varied musical environment rather than an isolated engagement. Choir training, school and family performances continue alongside the work in Munich.
The immediate operatic date is November 4. The shared casting is important for audiences following the young singer’s appearances: participation in the production does not mean that he sings every performance of the run.