The Met’s Wagner villain has died, aged 80
mainWe have been notified of the death of Ekkehard Wlaschiha, a notable Wagner baritone who sang Alberich at the Met’s PBS broadcast Ring in 1990. He won two Grammys for his Alberich recording.
His other specialist roles were Telramund, Dutchman and Klingsor.
An East German, he sang at Leipzig Oper until joining the Berlin state house in 1982. He was recruited at Bayreuth in 1986 and made his Met debut three years later.
He made his final Bayreuth appearance in Lohengrin only last summer.
Rest in peace. Very sad news. At the current mortality rate in the world of opera, soon there will be no one worth mentioning (because they are not worth mentioning).
“He made his final Bayreuth appearance in Lohengrin only last summer.” Where? Markgräfliches Opernhaus?
The Bayreuth Festival website lists the 1998 Klingsor (Parsifal) as Wlaschiha’s last appearance.
In the Bavarian Radio obituary they list his 1998 Pizarro (Fidelio) as his last major appearance.
RIP
Better FLYING DUTCHMAN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCcsl5qVlRg&t=4155s