BIOGRAPHY

After finishing his studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Peter Berne studied privately with Kurt Overhoff and Luigi Ricci, and worked for many years as a conductor with various opera houses in Austria, Germany, Sweden, Russia and Finland. 


During the last two decades he has dedicated himself primarily to teaching. On this area he has tried to revive an old tradition, according to witch the obligations of an opera conductor includes not only conducting the performance, but also doing meticulous work which the singers at the piano in order to help them work out the best possible musical and psychological interpretation of their roles. Peter Berne's work on this area led to his engagement as head of the music staff at the Vienna State Opera, where between 1991 and 1993 he was in charge mainly of the Wagner-Strauss-repertoire and was responsable for the musical preparation of the complete new "Ring"-cycle in the 1992-3 season. Before, he also taught at the Dept. of Musicology at the University of Salzburg, where he led seminars on Wagner and Richard Strauss, as well as in vocal performance practice in Italian opera.

During the last decade Peter Berne has had guest professorships at the Royal Opera Academy Copenhagen and the Sibelius-Academy Helsinki; he has given master classes at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the "Universität der Künste" in Berlin, the Opera Academy in Stockholm, the State Music Conservatory in St. Petersburg and the Royal Opera House, Copenhagen; in addition he was invited to do special work on the Wagner-Strauss-repertoire at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris and the Finnish National Opera Helsinki. He also works privately with many renowned opera singers. In 1997 he founded the "International Centre of Opera Studies Kirchbach Monastery" in Kirchbach, Austria.

2006-2007 Peter Berne will give guest courses at the "Mozarteum" in Salzburg, the Opera Academy in Oslo, the University of Arts in Berlin and the Vadstena-Academy in Sweden.

His book on Wagner's "Ring" with the title "Apocalypse - Weltuntergang und Welterneuerung in Wagner's 'Ring' - Eine Werkeinführung für das dritte Jahrtausend" was published in the spring of 2006 by the "Werner'sche Verlagsgesellschaft".

His book with the title "Belcanto - Historical Performance Practice in Italian Opera" will appear in the autumn of 2007.