Singing, directing, moderating, a foray into acting and, most recently, audio books – his trump card was diversity. He has written three books about his life. Born in Eisenberg (Thuringia) in 1944, Bass wanted to become a pilot or go to sea as a boy, but after training as a civil engineer, he studied opera singing at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar.
In 1972, the Dresden Opera’s young talent studio hired him – shortly afterwards he was accepted into the ensemble. The banjo player and jazz singer also founded the Semper HouseBand in 1985 with like-minded musicians from the Staatskapelle. From 1987, Emmerlich conquered the TV screen in the GDR and even stood up to Thomas Gottschalk’s “Wetten,dass…?” in the West with “Showkolade” – a mix of glitter, contemporary criticism and cabaret.
Viewers’ favorite
In 1992 he broke his contract with the Semperoper to work freelance. With shows such as “Take Time”, “Gunther and Drüber” and “Zauberhafte Heimat” he then became a favorite of German television viewers in East and West. In 2008 he made his successful debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall with the opera singer Deborah Sasson. His musical repertoire ranged from church music to song cycles, arias and duets to Dixieland and swing. In 2015 he made his debut in an operetta at the Bad Hersfeld Festival.
Since then he has appeared regularly with his own program in eastern Germany and appeared on television. According to a close friend, he was present at the recording of a Christmas concert on Sunday. On Wednesday evening “we can all watch his last recorded broadcast together on MDR and say goodbye to him,” his manager wrote.
