American bass-baritone and beloved Opera Australia vocal coach Joshua Hecht passed away on Mar. 29, 2019 at the age of 91.

Hecht was born in New York City in 1928, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. A protégé of soprano Rosa Ponselle, he received a Bachelor of Arts from New York University and proceeded to perform with over 50 opera companies over the course of his career.

According to Limelight, Hecht made his opera stage debut as the Comte des Grieux in Massenet’s “Manon” with the Baltimore Civic Opera in 1953, and made his NY City Opera debut as Monterone in “Rigoletto” alongside Cornell MacNeil. He sang with NYCO throughout the mid-late fifties, appearing as Colline in “La Boheme,” Angelotti in “Tosca,” Sparafucile in “Rigoletto,” and Timur in “Turandot.” Additionally, he appeared in the New York premieres of Floyd’s “Susannah” and Moore’s “The Ballad of Baby Doe.” He returned to NYCO in later years to take on the roles of Scarpia in “Tosca,” Sarastro in “The Magic Flute,” Méphistophélès in “Faust,” and Sergeant Goldberg in Weisgall’s “Nine Rivers from Jordan.”

Hecht also appeared on the stages of San Francisco’s Cosmopolitan Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera, alongside legendary opera stars including Lily Pons, Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills, Luciano Pavarotti, and Dame Joan Sutherland.

Hecht performed at the foremost venues across the globe. He lived in Italy and Germany from 1972-1996, serving as Frankfurt Opera’s resident teacher from 1986-1992. Later on, he established the Hecht Studio in New York. In 1995, he became a vocal coach for Opera Australia, where he had appeared as Scarpia in 1993 and as Schigolch in “Lulu” in 1994.

Opera Australia shared Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini’s statement on Hecht’s passing via its Facebook page: “One of my great friends passed away today. Joshua Hecht, who I loved like a brother, has left us. I’m sure many people will write about the extraordinary influence Josh had on their lives and about his exceptional operatic career, and I will be one of them, but right now I would like to send my deepest condolences to his wife Donna. Rest in peace my dear friend. You will always be in my heart.”