Aksel Schiøtz

Aksel Schiøtz (1906–1975) was a Danish tenor.

Schiøtz was born in Roskilde, Denmark, but grew up in Hellerup near Copenhagen. Having obtained an M.A. in Danish and English in 1930 he taught at various schools in Roskilde and Copenhagen until 1938, when he gave up teaching. In October 1936 he gave his first Lied-recital, and he made his opera début at the Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen, in Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" in 1939.

At the Glyndebourne Festival in 1946, he alternated with Peter Pears in the part of 'Male Chorus' in Benjamin Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia."

More than as an opera singer, however, Schiøtz is remembered for his interpretation of Danish songs and Schubert's and Schumann's "Lieder," as well as songs by Carl Michael Bellman. During the Nazi occupation of Denmark (1940–1945), he achieved great popularity for his recording of traditional Danish songs of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

From 1955 to 1957 he served as professor of music at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, later in Toronto, and finally at the University of Colorado, Boulder. From 1968 he was professor in Copenhagen. Schiøtz died in Copenhagen.