Tenor Corneliu Murgu passed away at age 72 after a successful career as a singer and as General Manager of the Timisoara National Opera in Romania. Murgu began his musical studies in Timisoara, his hometown, before traveling to Italy to study in Florence where he obtained the diploma of “Maestro Di Canto.” He then had classical training with Marcello Del {…}
Opera singer and voice teacher Eileen Schauler Charone passed away at her home in Millburn on April 21, 2021. She was 92. Schauler was born in New Jersey in 1928 and throughout her career was admired for her presence on stage, her committed acting, and her emotional and expressive singing. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she made her New {…}
Italian soprano Lucia Naviglio died on April 11 in Bari, due to COVID-19-related complications. She was 63. She had been hospitalized, much like her husband and mother-in-law, who also died of COVID-19 earlier that week. She famously managed to kickstart her career by singing “In questa reggia” from “Turandot” without knowing how to read music. Famed composer Nino Rota, who {…}
(Credit: © Willy Saeger) Famed dramatic mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig has passed away at the age of 93. Ludwig was born in Berlin in a musical family. She made her operatic debut right after WWII in 1946 in Johan Strauss’ operetta “Die Fledermaus” at the Oper Frankfurt. She became a member of the ensemble of the Staatstheater Darmstadt in 1952. In {…}
Swiss musician and composer Rudolf Kelterborn passed away on March 24, 2021 in his hometown of Basel, Switzerland. He was 89. Kelterborn was born on September 3, 1931 and would go on to study in Basel, Detmolo, Salzburg, and Zurich, among others, with such composers Walther Geiser, Willy Burtfhard, Günter Bialas, and Wolfgang Fortner. Throughout his long career, he served {…}
Welsh baritone Eric Roberts has died. The baritone began his singing career studying Fine Arts at Manchester University before gaining a scholarship to study singing at the Royal Manchester College of Music. He made his professional debut as Papageno in “The Magic Flute” with the Welsh National Opera and returned as Guglielmo in “Così fan tutte.” He would also perform {…}
Soprano Mary Ellen Pracht has died at the age of 87. The soprano born in Ohio in 1934 joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1961-1962 season and made her debut as Annina in “La Traviata.” She would go on to sing 35 roles in 314 performances including Mimi in “La Boheme,” the First Lady in {…}
María Adela Estévez Campos, a lyric singer, actor, and editor of “Diario Lírico,” died on March 17, 2021 after losing a 4-month battle wth COVID-19, further complicated by her underlying rheumatoid arthritis. She was 58-years-old. Estévez began her musical studies at the conservatory in her hometown of A Coruña, Spain and there she began her acting career as a voice {…}
Lady Valerie Solti, president of the Solti Foundation, died at the age of 83 on March 31, 2021. Born Valerie Pitts in Leeds, England, a large part of her life was dedicated to cultural organizations, theater, music, and the children’s opera. But before all that, she was a noted presenter on British television and was part of the original BBC {…}
Soprano and music teacher Veronica Dunne has died at the age of 93. Born in Dublin on August 2, 1927, Dunne began her vocal studies at the age of 12 under Hubert Rooney and went on to study in Rome in the 1940s to study with Soldini Calcagni and Francesco Calcatelli. She made her operatic debut in 1948 with the Dublin Grand {…}
Czech opera soprano Jadwiga Wysoczanská-Štrosová has died at the of 93. Born on May 24, 1927, in Prague, Wysoczanská-Štrosová studied with Vojtěch Bořivoj between 1943–1945 at the Prague Conservatory. Following her studies at the conservatory, she went on to work privately with J. Logačová-Klemensová. The soprano performed in Liberec and Opava, and at the State Theater in Brno where she {…}