Barihunk Gerd Grochowski dies day after singing Wotan

Death notice from Gerd Grochowski's website

German barihunk Gerd Grochowski died of a heart attack 17 hours after performing Wotan at the Wiebaden Opera. He had received a rousing ovation from the audience and no one noticed anything unusual with his health.

Gerd Grochowski sings "Wo du bist?" from Tristan und Isolde:

Grochowski was a Wagner specialist who had performed Telramund and Heerrufer in Lohengrin, the title role in The Flying Dutchman, Wotan in The Ring, the Wanderer in Siegfried, Gunther in Götterdämmerung, Kurwenal in Tristan and Isolde and Amfortas and Klingsor in Parsifal. His breakthrough came with his debut at New York’s Metropolitain Opera as Kurwenal in Tristan and Isolde led by Daniel Barenboim. He performed at many of the world's greatest opera houses and festivals including the San Francisco Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, La Scala, Festival Aix-en-Provence, Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Salzburg Festival.

After Sunday's performance, he told his daughter "Nur eines will ich noch, das Ende," which translates to: "There is but one thing left I desire, the end."

Günther Groissböck singing Heinrich in Amsterdam & Berlin

Günther Groissböck as Heinrich in Lohengrin

The role of Heinrich in Wagner's Lohengrin is beginning to fill Austrian bass-barihunk Günther Groissböck's schedule. Earlier this year, he had a successful run in the role at the Vienna State Opera in April and he previously performed it in Tokyo. On November 10th, he'll sing seven performances of the role at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, before reprising the role in Berlin in April 2015.

 Günther Groissböck as Heinrich in Berlin:

He'll be joined in Amsterdam by Nikolai Schukoff as Lohengrin and Yevgeny Nikitin as Telramund, both of whom are making their company debuts. Juliane Banse will sing Elsa and Michaela Schuster is taking on Ortrud. Performances run from November 10-29 and tickets are available online.

In Berlin, the all-star cast includes Klaus Florian Vogt as Lohengrin, Waltraud Meier as Ortrud and Anja Harteros as Elsa. Tickets are available online. Ring Cycle fanatics will be thrilled to know that Groissböck will sing Hunding and Fasolt in the Munich Ring in February and March.

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