Austrian Soprano Monika Riedler has died. Riedler studied voice at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and attended Master classes with Marianne Schech, James King, Helmut Rilling and Sergiu Celibidache. The soprano went on to build a great reputation performing in Europe, the USA and Canada and went on to be known for opera and operetta. She {…}
South African singer-turned-director Patricia Panton died at the age of 89. Born in Johannesburg, Panton originally studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and received a diploma in classical singing. She went on to perform around Europe but eventually opted to move into directing operas. Panton first worked as assistant {…}
Opera Santa Barbara Board Member Daniel Reicker has died. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Reicker worked for one of Santa Barbara’s top law firms. He became a member of Opera Santa Barbara’s Board of Directors for 25 years, serving as the company’s in-house legal counsel, and as a member of the {…}
Swiss mezzo-soprano Yvonne Naef has passed away at the age of 68 after a short serious illness. Naef studied in Zurich, Basel, and Mannheim and launched her career as a member of opera companies of St. Gallen and Wiesbaden. She went on to become renowned at the Zürich Opera, which became her artistic home and where she performed several important {…}
Tenor Francesco Piccoli has died. Born in 1959 in San Martino Buon Albergo in a province of Verona, Piccoli went on to make his debut at the Teatro Sociale di Rovigo in Donizetti’s “Rita” in 1986. Following that debut he went on to have sing for more than 30 years and performed a wide repertoire from baroque music to romantic {…}
On Dec. 13, Romanian soprano Anda-Louise Bogza died at the age of 60. Born on Feb. 27, 1965 in Piatra Neamț, Bogza studied music at the George Enescu Conservatory in Iași, the National University of Music Bucharest, and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Following her studies, she began her career performing at the State Opera and the {…}
German Baritone Thomas Johannes Mayer has died at the age of 56. The Bayreuth Festival announced news noting, “The Bayreuth Festival mourns the loss of Thomas J. Mayer, a baritone whose voice filled the Green Hill for many years. As an internationally sought-after artist, he performed at leading opera houses including the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the {…}
LA Opera has announce the death of its former Artistic Administrator Robin Thompson. In a statement the company said, “Robin Thompson served as Artistic Administrator during the first decade of the company’s existence. Playing a key role in the company’s senior leadership under the tenure of Founding General Director Peter Hemmings, Robin helped shape the young company into what it {…}
On Dec. 2, 2025, American dramatic soprano Margaret Jane Wray died at the age of 62. Born on Dec. 17, 1962, who began her career as a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Young Artist program in the mid to late 1980s. Wray was a winner of the 1989 Richard Tucker Award. She made her debut at the Met in 1987 {…}
South African mezzo Evelyn Dalberg has died at the age of 86. Born on May 23, 1939, in Leipzig, Germany, Dalberg was trained at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where she obtained a performer’s Diplom She made her professional career at the Covent Garden in 1953, and went on to perform at the Theater Koblenz in Germany. With {…}
(Credit: Claudia Höhne) On Nov. 20, 2025, German conductor Lutz Rademacher died at the age of 56. The news was announced by the Landestheater Detmold, where he served as General Music Director from 2013 to 2021 and led the house’s symphonic orchestra. In a statement, the company said, “On behalf of the Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra’s board expresses its condolences on the {…}
