Baritone Giorgio Gatti has died at the age of 72 of COVID-19. The baritone was intensive care in Rome after contracting a severe case of the illness. Born in 1948 in Poggio a Caiano, Province of Prato, Tuscany, Italy, Gatti studied in Florence with tenor Vincenzo Guerrieri and went to the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. Following his studies in {…}
(Credit: Derek Tamea) Soprano, writer, and music teacher Jane Marian Manning died on March 31, 2021 at the age of 82. Manning was educated at the Norwich High Scholl for Girls, the Royal Academy of Music in 1958, and the Scuola Di Canto in Cureglia, Switzerland. She earned a Ph.D. from York College, a Ph.D. in Music from Keele College, {…}
Dr. Scott Beard has passed away at the age of 56. Born in 1964, Beard was a recognized pianist, teacher, clinician, author, and recording artist and the Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Shepherd University in West Virginia. At the University, he began in 1998 as the coordinator of keyboard studies and in 2010 was named {…}
Diane Martindale, co-artistic director and co-founder of the Dicapo Opera Theater, died on March 19 at the age of 87 of natural causes. Born on December 17, 1933, in Evansville, Indiana, Martindale received a master’s degree from Northwestern University in voice, piano, and opera, eventually making major productions of American operas and overseeing the artistic growth of the Dicapo Opera {…}
Des Moines Metro Opera‘s founder and director emeritus, Robert L. Larsen, passed away on Sunday, March 21. Larsen was born in Walnut, Iowa on November 28, 1934 and at age 10 he was already immersed in piano classes, and eventually entered Simpson College. He then continued his studies at the University of Michigan before returning to the music faculty at {…}
Yevgeny Nesterenko has died at the age of 83 of COVID-19 in Vienna, Austria. The basses family confirmed the news noting that the bass had died in the hospital after contracting a severe case of COVID-19. Born in Moscow, Russia on Jan. 8, 1938, Nesterenko first took up architecture and graduated from the Leningrad Civil Engineering Institute in Leningrad. However, {…}
Australian soprano Taryn Fiebig has died at the age of 49. In 2017 the soprano was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and withdrew from a number of roles to undergo treatment. In 2018 she returned to the stage but the cancer returned and she passed away on March 20, 2021. In a statement from the soprano’s family, the soprano died at {…}
Tenor Robert Gard has died at the age of 94. Born in Cornwall, England, in 1927, Gard studied at the Guildhall School of Music with Dino Borgioli. In 1960, Gard went to Australia on a tour with “The Merry Widow” and returned to star in a production of “Lock Up Your Daughters” in Melbourne in 1961.” He returned to Australia {…}
Composer Antón García Abril died at the age of 87 from COVID-19. Born on May 19, 1933, in Teruel, Spain, Abril studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. He was one of the most prominent composers in Spain and his work exceeds 200 scores for Spanish cinema and television programs, in addition to having been the author of {…}
Bass-baritone Luciano Di Pasquale has died at the age of 57. According to reports out of Italy, Di Pasquale died due to a heart condition. Born in Teramo, Italy, Di Pasquale went on to study with mezzo-soprano Marina Gentile and received a diploma with the highest marks at the Conservatory of Rodi Garganico. He later studied with Elio Battaglia and {…}
(Photo by Jamie Street) Every Friday, Polina Lyapustina delivers a short essay on some of the most sensitive topics in the industry with the intent of establishing a dialogue about the opera world and its future. James Levine died. And the short and direct words of facts seem the only way to speak about it. A very controversial and big persona of {…}