On Sept. 7, 2023, Japanese composer Akira Nishimura died. Nishimura was born in Osaka on Sept. 8, 1953, and went on to study composition and musical theory on a graduate course at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He also studied Asian traditional music, religion, aesthetics, cosmology, and the heterophonic concepts. Following his studies he composed several orchestra {…}
On Oct. 9, 2023, French-Argentine theater and opera director Jorge Lavelli died at 90. Born on Nov. 11, 1932, in Buenos Aires, Lavelli lived in France from the early 1960s and in 1963 he staged Witold Gombrowicz’s play “The Marriage,” introducing the playwright to the French public. In 1977, he became a French citizen and went on to stage more {…}
(Photo: (c) Bernhard Hansky) On Oct. 7, 2023, German tenor Reiner Goldberg died at the age of 83 in Berlin. Born on Oct. 17, 1939, in Crostau, Lusatia, Goldberg studied at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden. In 1966 he made his debut at the Sächsische Landesbühne in Radebeul and in 1973, he began performing at {…}
Opera North’s company manager Jane Bonner has died. The company took to social media to announce the news, stating, “It is with huge sadness that Opera North learned this week of the death of our much-loved Company Manager, Jane Bonner. Jane worked for the Company for more than 40 years with true dedication, passion and great care for all of {…}
On Oct. 3, 2023, Australian operatic mezzo-soprano Jacqueline Dark died at the age of 55. The mezzo-soprano passed away in a Sydney hospital and the news comes a year after she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and had previously undergone surgery and chemotherapy. Dark was born in Ballarat and completed a physics degree. She went on to {…}
On Sept. 20, 2023, Israeli conductor Yaacov Bergman died at the age of 78. Born in Israel on May 31, 1945, Bergman began taking violin and singing lessons at an early age. He then took an interest in conducting and composing and went on to study at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance for conducting and composition. Bergman did {…}
Parterre Box founder and opera critic James Jorden has died. The opera industry blog announced the news stating, “Details about a memorial will be announced in due course, but in the meantime, members of cher public are invited to share memories of James in the comments.” Jorden, who was born in 1954, spent over 20 years as an opera critic {…}
On Oct. 1, 2023, Patricia Burda Janečková died of breast cancer. She was 25. An official statement on Facebook said, “The opera and musical singer lost her courageous fight with an aggressive disease. She passed away on October 1, 2023, surrounded by the tender care of her husband, Vlastimil Burda, and her loved ones. She left a lasting legacy through {…}
On Sept. 6, 2023, Abraham Kaplan died at the age of 92. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Kaplan was the son of Shlomo Kaplan, a prominent choral conductor and music pedagogue in Israel. He taught at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and was head of the music department of the Histadrut. Abraham Kaplan first sang under his father in a {…}
(Credit: KAY HERSCHELMANN) Tenor Stephen Gould has died at the age of 61. The news comes only weeks after the tenor announced an early retirement due to bile duct cancer. The Bayreuth Festival first announced the news stating, “It is with deepest sadness and bewilderment that we have to announce the death of our friend and colleague, Stephen Gould. With {…}
French soprano Suzanne Sarroca has died at the age of 96. Born on April 21, 1927, the soprano studied singing at the Conservatoire de Toulouse and began her career as a mezzo-soprano in the role of Charlotte in Massenet’s “Werther” in Carcassonne. That role would be followed by Bizet’s “Carmen” in 1951 in La Monnaie of Brussels. Sarroca eventually moved {…}