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 {…}
On Nov. 11, 2025, Heldentenor Gary Lakes died at the age of 75. Born on Sept. 26, 1950, in Woodward, Oklahoma, and raised in Irving, Texas, Lakes studied at Southern Methodist University. He made his professional debut with the Seattle Opera in the role of Froh in 1981 in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold.” In 1986 he went on to make his {…}
On Oct. 16, conductor Bernhard Klee died at the age of 89. Born on April 19, 1936, in Schleiz, Thuringia, Klee grew up in Jena and learned to play the piano, violin, and double bass. He was a member of the Leipzig Thomanerchor from 1948 to 1955, and at the age of 10, he heard his first Mozart opera, “Le {…}
American bass-baritone, conductor, and educator Willis Charles Patterson has died at 94. A Fulbright Scholar, Marian Anderson Award winner, and longtime professor at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Patterson championed the preservation and performance of Black art songs, Patterson was born on Nov. 27, 1930, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and after serving in the U.S. {…}
(Credit: DOB) Dutch mezzo-soprano Kaja Borris has died at the age of 77. Born on Jan. 8, 1939, Borris was born in The Hague and became an ensemble singer for the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The mezzo performed with the company for three decades, starting in 1971, performing such roles as Filipyevna in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” Frau Marthe Schwerdtlein in Gounod’s {…}
