Kenneth Riegel (April 19, 1938 – June 28, 2023) was an American opera tenor.[1]

Kenneth Riegel
Born(1938-04-19)April 19, 1938
DiedJune 28, 2023(2023-06-28) (aged 85)
OccupationSinger
Years active1965–2005

Life and career

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Riegel was born on April 19, 1938, in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania.[1] He made his theatrical début as the Alchemist in König Hirsch at Santa Fe Opera in 1965, debuting at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the same year.[2] He was engaged at the New York City Opera from 1969 (debut in L'heure espanole, with Karan Armstrong) to 1974.[2] He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in Les Troyens in 1973 (as Iopas, opposite Jon Vickers and Shirley Verrett), subsequently appearing at the Met in another 102 performances in operas including La clemenza di Tito, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Elektra, Fidelio, Lulu, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Salome, Die Zauberflöte and Wozzeck.[3] He made his first appearance at the Salzburg Festival in 1975.[2] In 1979, he sang Alwa at the first performance of the 3 act version of Lulu at the Paris Opera. He played the title role in Der Zwerg in Hamburg in 1981.[2] In 1983, he created the role of the Leper in Saint François d'Assise.[2]

Kenneth Riegel died in Sarasota, Florida on June 28, 2023, at the age of 85.[4]

Partial discography

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Selected filmography

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  • Mozart: Don Giovanni (Raimondi; Maazel, Losey, 1979)
  • Berg: Lulu (Migenes; Levine, Dexter, 1980, Metropolitan Opera)
  • Strauss: Salome (Ewing, Knight, Devlin; Downes, Hall, 1992, Covent Garden)
  • Strauss: Salome (Malfitano, Silja, Terfel; Dohnányi, Bondy, 1997, Covent Garden)

References

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  1. ^ a b Laura Williams Macy (2008). The Grove Book of Opera Singers. Oxford University Press. p. 408. ISBN 978-0-19-533765-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Kenneth Riegel". Oxford Reference.
  3. ^ "Metropolitan Opera Association". archives.metoperafamily.org.
  4. ^ "Opera News". operanews.com.
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