Born in Berlin on 30 August 1945,[1][2] Lorenz studied voice in his hometown at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" from 1964 to 1969, where he was a master student of Alois Orth.

After receiving several prizes at international singing competitions, Lorenz was engaged as a lyrical baritone at the Komische Oper Berlin by Walter Felsenstein in 1969.

He appeared successfully as Wolfram in Wagner's Tannhäuser, as the Count in Mozart's Die Hochzeit des Figaro, as Posa in Verdi's Don Carlos, and as Borromeo in Hans Pfitzner's Palestrina, among others.

[1] English music critic Alan Blyth reviewed Winterreise for Gramophone and noted: "He sings with pleasing, consistently firm tone and with an enviable control of line and dynamics.

A reviewer wrote that Lorenz "penetrated Schubert's songs for many years and this eight-CD box is the result of assiduous study and a long-term plan".