Austrian conductor Stefan Soltész collapsed and died during a performance at the National Theater in Munich on Friday evening. The Bavarian State Opera has “with horror and sadness” reported via twitter. Soltész conducted the performance in the Bavarian State Opera The Schweigsame Frau by the famous composer Richard Strauss.
Soltész was the conductor of major European operas for decades. He started his career in 1971 at the Vienna Theater An der Wien. In the years that followed he was conductor at the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and the Flemish Opera in Antwerp and Ghent. Soltész also worked for more than fifteen years as the artistic director and music director of the Aalto Muziektheater in Essen. Under his leadership, the Essener Philharmoniker gained great international fame and appreciation.
Serge Dorney, general director of the Bavarian State Opera, said on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Soltész. “We are losing a gifted conductor,” Dorney said.