Bass Victor von Halem passed away on May 28, 2022. He was 82.

Von Halem was born in Berlin on March 26, 1940 and went on to study singing at the Musikhochschule München.

At the recommendation of conductor Herbert von Karajan, he made his stage debut at the Deutsche Opera Berlin in 1965 and would remain a member of the company for the ensuing 30 years of his career, taking on leading roles in such operas as “Die Zauberflöte,” “Aida,” “Les Huguenots,” “Lohengrin,” and “Tristan und Isolde,” among many others. When he took on the role of “Boris Godunov” with the company,” New York Times critic Harold C. Shonberg called him a “giant of a man with a voice to match.”

He also appeared with such companies as the Wiener Staatsoper where he made his debut in 1978 as well as San Francisco Opera, La Scala, the Opéra National de Paris, the Spoleto Festival, and La Monnaie, among many others.

He also performed operetta, musical, and chanson.