Heinrich Schütz 1585-1672

Heinrich Schütz was born in Bad Köstritz near Gera in 1585. He wrote Daphne, the first German opera, after travelling to Italy and coming into contact there with the new style of opera. Sadly, along with many other major works of art, Daphne was lost in the great upheavals of the Thirty Years War, but many of Schütz's works - church music - did survive. The foremost German composer of the early baroque period, he held posts at a number of courts and churches: Kassel, Wolfenbüttel, Halle, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Braunschweig and Hanover. After a life of extensive travel, Schütz died in Dresden at the grand old age of 87.

Stations in life:
Bad Köstritz, Kassel, Dresden