Reknowned German baritone Franz Grundheber died on Sept. 27 at the age of 88.

Born on Sept 27, 1937, in Trier, Germany, Grunheber graduated from the Max-Planck-Gymnasium in 1959 and later enrolled in the Air Force of the Bundeswehr. He later studied in Hamburg and then at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and spent a summer at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California.

Following his studies, he joined the Hamburg State Opera in 1966 and became an important singer for the company, first singing smaller roles and then leading roles. Among his most important roles were those of Wagner. In total he went on to sing more than 150 roles including the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Help, Help, the Globolinks! on Dec. 21, 1968. He was named Kammersänger in 1986 and later named an honorary member in 2006.

Grundheber made his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper in 1976 in the title role of Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro” and in 1983 performed Mandryka in “Arabella.” He would go on to perform at the Staatsoper Berlin and Théâtre du Châtelet, as well as at the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut in 1999. At the Met, he would perform 28 times, including a new production of “Lulu” in 2015.

Among Grundheber’s major roles were Simon Boccanegra, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Amonasro in Aida, Jago, Holländer, Amfortas, Orest in “Elektra” and Barak in “Die Frau ohne Schatten,” and Dr. Schön in Alban Berg’s “Lulu.”

The baritone left many recordings, including Massenet’s “Werther,” Strauss’ “Arabella,” Paul Hindemith’s “Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen,” Berg’s “Wozzeck,” Wagner’s “Der fliegende Holländer,” and Strauss’ “Die Frau ohne Schatten,” among others.