Mario Brell (October 17, 1936[1] – July 8, 2021[2]) was a German operatic tenor.
Brell was born in Hamburg and grew up in the district of Barmbek. First, he started an apprenticeship as a painter and varnisher. With his brothers he joined a male choir, the "Mozart Quartet" in Hamburg-Wandsbek, which still exists today.[3] There, he was discovered and promoted by the choirmaster Ernst Haddorp, who eventually introduced him to Carl Gotthard, with whom Brell began his vocal training.[4]
In addition to his singing training, Brell took acting and dance lessons, at first continuing to work in his teaching profession in the construction industry.[5]
After only two years of training, Brell was engaged at the Theater Hof. Another year later, he successfully passed his final examination as an opera singer at the Hamburgische Staatsoper.[6]
Brell serves a highly extensive repertoire of over 30 operetta and over 80 opera roles [7] and over the years has worked in all genres from operetta to Wagner, from lyrical tenor to heroic tenor.[8]
After a serious heart operation in 1997, he had to leave the stage and could not sing for a long time. With the support of his family and his autobiography "Drum sei bedankbar", which he wrote during this time, he fought his way back into life - and onto the stages.[9]
Brell died in 2021 at the age of 85.