René Viktor Kollodzieyski, born November 20, 1937, in Berlin, Germany, known professionally as René Kollo, is a German opera singer. Raised in a musical family as the son of composer Willi Kollo and grandson of Walter Kollo, he initially pursued popular music, recording a German version of "Hello Mary Lou" for Polydor and achieving a hit with "Am Ende wird es Liebe sein" in 1961, followed by an appearance in the film So liebt und küsst man in Tirol. In 1965, Kollo transitioned to opera, debuting at the Staatstheater Braunschweig and serving as first tenor at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1967 to 1971, performing leading roles in operas by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, and Janáček. He became known for his Wagnerian roles, recording operas including Tannhäuser, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Der fliegende Holländer, Tristan und Isolde, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. Kollo received the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande in 1979, the DIVA-Award in 1991, the Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse in 1994, and the Austrian Music Theatre Prize for lifetime achievement in 2019. After retiring from principal tenor roles in 2000, he continued performing in character roles, including the 2016 stage production Quartetto.
