The George London Foundation has announced the passing of Nora E. London on June 23, 2022. Born Nora Schapiro on January 8, 1924, her family moved from Europe to America at the beginning of World War II. A lifetime supporter of the arts, Nora was married to legendary baritone George London, and served as President of the George London Foundation {…}
On June 25, 2022, Mezzo-soprano Sheila Nadler died at the age of 82 Born on June 20, 1943, in New York City, she went on to study at the Manhattan School of Music and in 1968 was accepted at the New York Opera Studio while she was also a member of the Maria Callas Master Classes at Juilliard School. From {…}
German tenor Peter Maus died at the age of 74. The tenor died of a brief illness in his adoptive city of Berlin. Maus was born in Bayreuth and became a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1974 to 2013 where he performed such roles as Isèpo in “La Gioconda.” Belmonte and Pedrillo in “Die Entführung aus dem Serail,” {…}
On June 18, 2022, Romain soprano Iulia Buciuceanu died at the age of 90. Born on June 25, 1931, in Tighina, Basarabia, she became a soloist at the Romanian Opera in Bucharest for three decades from 1952 to 1983. She first took an interest in music at home where her mother became her first teacher before heading to the Conservatory {…}
On June 8, 2022, English conductor David Lloyd-Jones passed away at the age of 87. Born on November 19, 1934, Lloyd-Jones’ family moved from their native London to a farm in West Wales shortly before World War II. After being introduced to Mozart in school, he soon developed a loved for classical music after his father brought him to a {…}
Australian soprano Rachel Gettler has died at the age of 74 after being ill. She passed away in Augsburg, Germany on May 36, 2022. Born in Paris, Gettler moved to Australia where she was raised. She went on to study singing at the Guildhall School of Music in London and at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. She {…}
Bass Victor von Halem passed away on May 28, 2022. He was 82. Von Halem was born in Berlin on March 26, 1940 and went on to study singing at the Musikhochschule München. At the recommendation of conductor Herbert von Karajan, he made his stage debut at the Deutsche Opera Berlin in 1965 and would remain a member of the {…}
Conductor Kai Bumann passed away on June 2, 2022. He was 60. Born in 1961 in Berlin, Bumann studied at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin before becoming a repetiteur at the Theater Trier and then the Theater Freiburg. He would become Kapellmeister at the Landestheater Detmold in 1989 and would then become interim General Music Director with the company the {…}
Mezzo-soprano Lenka Šmídová has died at the age of 60. The news was announced by the spokesman for the Prague National Theater, where Šmídová was a leading artist. The mezzo studied and graduated from the Prague Conservatoire with Helena Tattermuschová and later at the Prague Academy of Music with René Tuček. She became a soloist at the Prague National Theater opera {…}
Mezzo-soprano Anne Howells passed away on May 18, 2022. She was 81. Born on January 12, 1941 in Southport, England, Howells studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and made her professional debut in 1966 as Flora in “La Traviata” with the Welsh National Opera. That would be followed by a debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden {…}
(Credit: Picture from IMDB) Soprano June Preston has passed away at the age of 93. Born in Glendale, California on December 29, 1928, Preston trained at the Meglin Dance Studio and began a career in Hollywood at the age of four. She appeared in a number of major motion pictures including “It Happened One Night,” “Christmas in July,” and “Strawberry {…}