Schöneberger Sängerknaben
The Schöneberger Sängerknaben were a German boys’ choir from Berlin, named after the Schöneberg district. About 30 boys sang at a time. They wore short black trousers, black blazers with emblems, white shirts and white knee socks.
Their first songs were German folk songs, Berlin pop songs and Schlager. Later they sang opera choruses and other classical works as well.
The choir was founded on 12 November 1947 by Gerhard Hellwig. He trained the boys and they sang first in old people’s homes, hospitals and in Berlin squares.
Two years after it began, Heinz Tietjen, the manager of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, invited them to perform at his house and hired them for the Wagner opera Tannhäuser. This started a long era: more than 3100 opera performances in over 50 productions in several languages. From 1954 they performed at the Bayreuth Festival, and Hellwig led its artistic office from 1959.
In 1956 the choir appeared in the film Hochzeit auf Immenhof, and in 1957 Ferien auf Immenhof, with songs by Hans-Martin Majewski. In 1958 they sang the first song for the Deutsche Fernsehlotterie, “Kleine Leute, große Reise.” Five years later they accompanied singer Bully Buhlan on “Junge Herzen haben Sehnsucht” for ARD’s lottery in 1963.
The choir also made recordings, including an LP with Manuela. They appeared in many television events and undertook more than 300 concert tours, visiting many countries in Europe and abroad, including Expo 67 in Montreal in 1967.
Gerhard Hellwig died on 15 January 2011, and with his death the Schöneberger Sängerknaben ceased their work.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:25 (CET).