Vienna Opera mourns 100-role baritone
mainThe opera has just informed us of the death of the baritone Alfred Šramek, at the age of 65.
He had been a value ensemble member since 1975 and last sang on the main stage in Tosca on April 16, 2016.
A student of Hilde Zadek and Peter Klein, he sang everything from Mozart’s Figaro to Schigolch in Lulu and was hugely popular both with the Viennese public and with his singing colleagues. He mastered more than 100 roles and sang Benoit in La Bohème more than 100 times.
Internationally, he sang in Germany, Spain and the US.
Away from the opera, he worked on his vineyards in Lanzendorf. He had struggled with cancer for eight years.
Alfred is survived by a daughter, Katharine Dorian. A second daughter predeceased him.
A wonderful artist, one of “my” best Dottor Bartolo. I will miss him.
Not a bad life – opera and vineyards. RIP.
It is hard to imagine the Wiener Staatsoper without him. Every conversation with Alfred Sramek was a way to learn about music and life, laughing at the same time with an extremely ingenious personality full of humour and humanity. Danke für alles, verehrter KS!
Such a loss, a superlative singer and a wonderful human being.
Very sad news indeed. A lovely man, a generous colleague and a marvellous singer. He could reduce an audience (and all the colleagues at rehearsal!) into fits of laughter with just a look or tiny gesture, and continued to sing with warmth, courage and good humour even as his illness took great toll of his strength. He will be very much missed by all who knew him.