Tenor Tito del Bianco has died at the age of 88 in Trieste, Italy. The tenor, who was baptized Sergio Del Bianco, was born on July 3, 1932, in Trieste, Italy, and went on to study with Augusta Rapetti Bassi in his hometown. He would leave Trieste for Rome where he studied with Renata Cotogni and made his debut in {…}
Polish bass Leonard Andrzej Mróz died at the age of 73 on Dec. 13 in Warsaw, Poland. Mróz was born on Jan. 19, 1947, and studied in Warsaw. He went on to win several international competitions including the sixth Polish National Vocal Competition. S. Moniuszko in Wrocław as well as competitions in Munich, Geneva, and Amsterdam. He followed it with an {…}
Tenor Kamen Tchanev has died at the age of 56. The Bulgarian tenor died from COVID-19 at the age of 56 on Nov. 26, 2020. His death came three weeks after performing the title role of “Otello.” The tenor was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Stara Zagora and there had been an appeal for blood plasma for him. Tchanev was {…}
Austrian Actor and Opera singer Klaus Ofczarek passed away on Dec. 6, 2020 in Vienna. He was 81. Ofczarek was born on March 17, 1939, in Vienna, Austria, and attended the Otto Glöckel School in the 1950s before studying acting and singing at the Vienna Conservatory. He went on to perform with the Wiener Kammeroper, the Stadttheater St. Pölten, St. {…}
French soprano Sophie Boulin has died at the age of 69 on Dec. 1, 2020. The baroque specialist died in Liège, Belgium, after suffering for a year from a brain tumor. Born in Paris on August 1, 1951, Boulin studied at the Paris Conservatory and went to the Opera Studio for the Paris Opera. She would eventually join the baroque {…}
Opernhaus Zurich’s director of studies Ann Beckman has died at the age of 69. Beckman, a native of Kansas, United States studied piano and conducting. After graduating, she worked as a pianist and musical assistant at the Portland Opera and later as a song accompanist for the Berkshire Music Center. There, she worked alongside Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and John {…}
San Diego Opera has confirmed the passing of Marianne Flettner on Dec. 6, 2020. She is remembered for her service to the arts through the course of over fifty years. Born in Frankfurt Germany on August 9, 1933, Flettner lived in the forest outside the city in order to avoid bombings during the war. After graduating from Hessel Business College, {…}
Italian soprano Cecilia Fusco has died at the age of 87, after being diagnosed with COVID-19 on Nov. 26, 2020. Fusco was born on June 10, 1933, in Rome and grew up in a musical family. Her father Giovanni Fusco was a film composer who worked with such renowned directors as Michelangelo Antonioni and Jean-Luc Godard, while her mother was a {…}
Greek soprano Elsa Kastela has died. Born in Piraeus, Greece where her mother was a music professor and also gave her music lessons. The soprano went on to study and graduate from the National Conservatory of Athens, obtaining a number of awards for excellent performances in piano, monody, and opera singing. In May 1961 she won the third prize at {…}
(Image Source: Gabriel Chmura Official Website) On November 19, 2020, conductor Gabriel Chmura passed away at the age of 74. His passing was confirmed by the city of Poznan, where he served as Music Director for their Great Theater. Born in Wroclaw in 1946, Chmura and his family emigrated from Poland to Israel in 1957, where he would study at {…}
Bass-Baritone Thomas Hammons has died at the age of 68. According to reports, Hammons died suddenly on Nov. 10, 2020. Born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Hammons, moved to Cincinnati as a young child and at the age of 15, his father, Bige Hammons, introduced him to singing. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with {…}