In 1959 he began his career as a principal tenor at the Essen Opera House where he first appeared as Don Curzio in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
He made his debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1974 as Max in Der Freischütz, and was thereafter a resident artist at that house until 1996.
[1] In addition to his portrayal of Wagner heroes, Brenneis excelled in the roles of Max in Der Freischütz and Dimitrij in Boris Godunov.
[1] In 1975 Brenneis made his debut at La Scala as Florestan in Fidelio under conductor Karl Böhm.
[2] In 1988 he portrayed Siegfried in a complete production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Opéra de Nice.