Spas Wenkoff
Spas Wenkoff | |
---|---|
Born | Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria | 23 September 1928
Died | 12 August 2013 Bad Ischl, Austria | (aged 84)
Occupation | Operatic heldentenor |
Organization | Berlin State Opera |
Awards | Kammersänger |
Spas Wenkoff (Спас Венков) (23 September 1928 – 12 August 2013) was a Bulgarian-Austrian operatic
Career
Born in Veliko Tarnovo, Wenkoff initially studied law and worked for several years as a lawyer. He also studied singing, first in Tarnovo and Ruse, later in Dresden with Johannes Kemter.[1] He worked as legal advisor, and was also second concertmaster in an amateur operetta theatre in his hometown.[2] In 1954, he made his stage debut in the operetta Keto and Kote by Viktor Dolidze. Until 1963, he was full-time operetta tenor at the theatre, performing around 1000 times.[2] He then moved to Ruse, Bulgaria's second largest opera house.[2] Besides operetta, he appeared as Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata and as Gounod's Faust.[2] He sang there until 1965.[3]
In 1965 he moved to East Germany, and worked at first a member of the Stadttheater Döbeln in Saxony,[3] where he appeared in the title role of Weber's Der Freischütz, as Riccardo in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera and in the title role of Otello, among others.[4] He moved in 1968 to the Theater Magdeburg, and appeared from 1971 to 1976 at the Halle Opera House.[2][3]
On 12 October 1975, after a successful audition with stage director
In 1981, Wenkoff made his debut at the
On 16 October 1982, at the Vienna State Opera, Wenkoff stepped in for the suddenly indisposed Reiner Goldberg in the middle of the first act of Tannhäuser.[1][7] He appeared in other Wagner roles such as Stolzing, Parsifal, Siegmund and Siegfried.[1][8]
Wenkoff retired from the stage in 1993. He received Austrian citizenship in 1984 and spent his retirement in Bad Ischl where he died after a long illness at the age of 84. He is buried in the Bad Ischl Cemetery.[2][9][10]
Awards
Wenkoff was a
Recordings
- Ein Opernabend mit Spas Wenkoff. Richard Wagner: Arien und Szenen. CD at Ars Vivendi, earlier as LP at Eterna 1977.[2]
- Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde. Complete recording. CD for Myto with Carlos Kleiber.[11]
- Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde. Excerpts. CD for Bella Voce with Otmar Suitner.
- Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser. Recording of the Bayreuth Festival 1978. DVD for Deutsche Grammophon.[5][12]
- Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser. Complete recording (Berlin, 1982). Gala 3 CDs GL100621.[12]
Literature
- Peter M. Schneider: Heldentenor Spas Wenkoff. Alles war Zufall. BS-Verlag, Rostock 2008, ISBN 978-3-86785-045-2(Biography)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Spas Wenkoff" (in German). Bayreuth Festival. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Schneider, Peter M. (2013). "Kammersänger Spas Wenkoff am 12. August 2013 verstorben" (PDF) (in German). Richard-Wagner-Verband. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5.
- ^ "Stadttheater Döbeln – Inszenierungen Spielzeit 1967–1968" (in German). Döbeln. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ a b Thompson, Simon (September 2008). "Richard Wagner (1813–1883) / Tannhäuser (Paris Version)". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ Rockwell, John (18 February 1981). "Critic's Notebook: Spas Wenkoff Sings A Subtle Tristan". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ Fritz Walden: "Tannhäuser-Neuinszenierung in der Staatsoper: Die Volksoper und das Bacchanal", Arbeiter-Zeitung. Vienna, 18 October 1982, p. 13[dead link]
- ^ "Vorstellungen mit Spas Wenkoff" (in German). Vienna State Opera. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- Der Neue Merker (in German). Archived from the originalon 13 August 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- s.n. (2019). "Friedhof Bad Ischl". Friedhofsführer. Ischler Heimatverein. Retrieved 22 July 2019 (in German).
- ^ "Spas Wenkoff". Pera Depot. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-11-095596-5.
External links
- Literature by and about Spas Wenkoff in the German National Library catalogue
- Spas Wenkoff discography at Discogs
- Boris Gruhl: "Ein denkwürdiger Tristan", musik-in-dresden.de, 19 August 2013
- Spas Wenkoff on Bayerisches Musiker-Lexikon Online (BMLO)
- "Wagnerian Tenor Spas Wenkoff Dies At 84", Billboard, 14 August 2013
- "Spas Wenkoff, tenor", ucis.pitt.edu
- "Spas Wenkoff", Find a Grave