Sarah Elizabeth Reedy, a former marketing intern for the Pittsburgh Opera has died at the age of 31. Born on Oct. 24, 1989, Reedy grew up in Denton and graduated from Denton Ryan High School and Texas State University. She went on to receive her Master’s at Carnegie Mellon University in Arts Management in 2020. Reedy was known for her {…}
(Credit: Athole Still Artists) On August 11, Gianluigi Gelmetti died at the age of 75 in Monte Carlo. The celebrated conductor was born on Sept. 11, 1945 in Rome, Italy where his father was a pianist and his mother was a poet. Gelmetti went on to study at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia where he became interested in music, {…}
Polish bass Kazimierz Kowalski has died at the age of 70. Born in Łódź, Poland, Kowalski studied voice at the Academy of Music with Antoni Majak and went on to compete in the 1976 International Vocal Competition in Toulouse where he took the third prize. Following the competition, he went to the Teatr Wielki (Grand Theatre) in Łódź and made {…}
(Image Source: Thierry.dran.free.fr) Thierry Dran has passed away at the age of 67. The tenor began his musical studies at the Bordeaux Academy of Music in 1977 before heading to the Paris opera school, where he spent four years in Michel Sénéchal’s class. In his last year of studies he took on the role of Ernesto in “Don Pasquale” and {…}
Tenor Giuseppe Giacomini has died at the age 80 Born on Sept. 7, 1940, Giacomini went on to study with Elena Ceriati, Marcello del Monaco, and Vladimiro Badiali and had success in song competitions. He would go on to make his debut in 1966 in Vercelli in “Madama Butterfly” and by 1969, he was also performing around Italy. In 1970, {…}
(Credit: Kristin Pulido) Soprano Sarah Payne has died. The soprano who hailed from South Florida studied at the Florida International University in Vocal Performance before doing her Masters in Mannes School of Music. Payne was a Semi-Finalist for the 2016 Elizabeth Connell Prize for Young Dramatic Sopranos and took home first Place in the 2015 St. Petersburg Opera Guild Voice {…}
(Credit: Douglas Merriam) American mezzo-soprano Jean Kraft passed away on July 15, 2021. She was 94. Kraft was born on Jan. 9, 1927 in Menasha, Wisconsin, United States and began her singing career at the New York City Opera in the 1960s. She then went on to take on a partnership with the Santa Fe Opera between 1965 through 1987 {…}
German soprano Sigune von Osten died in the historic Trombacher Hof monastery, near Bad Kreuznach, Germany, on July 8, 2021. She was 71. Born on March 8, 1950, Von Osten studied in Hamburg and Karlsruche and became a champion of contemporary music by 20th and 21st century composers including John Cage, Olivier Messiaen, Luigi Nono, Giacinto Scelsi, and Krzysztof Penderecki, {…}
On July 9, 2021, longtime opera lighting designer Gil Wechsler passed away at the age of 79. Born in Brooklyn on Feb. 5, 1942, Wechsler discovered his love for theatre as a child at summer camp. He would go on to graduate with a degree in theatre in 1964 and receive his Master’s in Fine Arts from Yale. The following {…}
Hungarian-born composer and pianist Thomas Rajna has passed away at the age of 92. He is remembered for his leading role in the performing arts of Cape Town, South Africa and abroad. Born in Budapest, Rajna studied piano and composition from a young age, attending the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he would win the 1947 Liszt Prize. After {…}
On July 18, Aspen Music Festival and School opera program director Edward Berkeley died unexpectedly. The 76-year-old was found unresponsive by a colleague at home in Aspen according to the Aspen Police Department and the Pitkin County Coroner’s office. No cause of death was determined at this time. The news came hours before the opening night performance of “The Magic {…}