Paul Frey (born April 20, 1941) is a Canadian heldentenor, internationally known for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner.
[1] He trained his voice at the University of Toronto Opera School as the first recipient of the Edward Johnson Scholarship.
In 1978 Frey was engaged at the Stadttheater Basel where he sang the lead roles in Werther (his debut), Fidelio, and The Bartered Bride.
[3] Wolfgang Wagner heard the acclaimed performance and signed Frey to sing at the Bayreuth Festival, where he debuted in 1987 as Lohengrin (later broadcast by the CBC) and reprised the role in 1988 under conductor Peter Schneider and stage director Werner Herzog.
After his Bayreuth debut, he performed at most of the major European opera houses, especially as Wagner's Lohengrin, Parsifal, Erik, and Walther von Stolzing, although he has sung a wide variety of lyric and heldentenor roles, including the title role in Britten's Peter Grimes, Aeneas in Berlioz' Les Troyens, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Titus in La Clemenza di Tito, and Corrado in Verdi's Il Corsaro; he is also renowned as Florestan in Fidelio and Max in Der Freischütz.