Obituary: Conductor Jeffrey Tate Passes Away at 74

By David Salazar

Famed English conductor Jeffrey Tate passed away on Friday, June 2, 2017, leaving a massive void in the musical world.

The renowned conductor, born on April 28, 1943, performed at many of the major theaters of the world and dedicated much of his career to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

His Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1980, when he led a performance of “Lulu.” He was called back a year later to conduct a trilogy of Stravinsky works including “Le Sacre du Printemps,” “Le Rossignol,” and “Oedipus Rex.” He also conducted “Così Fan Tutte,” “La Bohème,” “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Idomeneo,” “Don Giovanni,” “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny,” “Wozzeck,” and “Die Fledermaus.” His final performance at the Met came on Jan. 17, 1987.

It was at the tail end of his Met career that he was named to the position of principal conductor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In fact, he was the first person in the company’s history to have that title. Among the operas he conducted with the company between 1972 and 2011 were “Carmen,” “Fidelio,”  “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Idomeneo,” “Lohengrin,” “Wozzeck,” and “Der Fliegende Holländer.” His final performances at the Royal Opera House came in 2011 with “Holländer.”

He made a number of recordings and also led such ensembles as the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, among others.

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