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Stefan Soltész (born István Soltész, Hungarian: [ˈʃolteːs]; 6 January 1949 – 22 July 2022) was a Hungarian-born Austrian conductor. Trained in Vienna, from 1997 to 2013 he was artistic director of the Aalto Theatre and Generalmusikdirektor in Essen, leading the opera house to international recognition.

Life

Soltész was born as István Soltész (Hungarian: Soltész István) in Nyíregyháza, Hungary, on 6 January 1949 and received piano lessons from age four. He came to Vienna in 1956, where he became a member of the Wiener Sängerknaben at age ten. He studied piano, conducting and composition at the Wiener Musikakademie beginning at age 14, conducting with Hans Swarowsky.

In 1971 he began his career as Kapellmeister at the Theater an der Wien, followed by engagements as répétiteur and conductor, at the Vienna State Opera from 1973 to 1983, and as guest conductor at the Graz Opera from 1979 to 1981. At the Salzburg Festivals of 1978, 1979 and 1983, he worked as a musical assistant to Karl Böhm, Christoph von Dohnányi and Herbert von Karajan.

Soltész was conductor at the Hamburg State Opera from 1983 to 1985, and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1985 to 1997. He worked as Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) at the Staatstheater Braunschweig from 1988 to 1993, and as chief conductor at the Flemish Opera from 1992 to 1997 in Antwerp and Gent.

From 1997 until the end of the 2012/13 season, Soltész was both artistic director and GMD of the Aalto-Theater in Essen. The opera house was voted "Opera House of the Year" by Opernwelt in 2008, and the Essen Philharmonic orchestra was named "Orchestra of the Year" in 2003 and 2008.

Soltész was a regular guest conductor at the European opera houses such as the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Budapest State Opera, the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Grand Théâtre de Genève. He made guest appearances at the Paris Opera and the Zurich Opera House, Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, at the Bilbao Opera, at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, in Japan, Taiwan, at the Washington and San Francisco Opera, and the Royal Opera House. He conducted at festivals such as Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence Festival and Savonlinna, the Baden-Baden Pfingstfestspiele, Anima Mundi in Pisa, the Tongyeong Festival in Korea and the Glyndebourne Festival.

On 22 July 2022, Soltész collapsed while conducting a performance of Richard Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau at the National Theatre Munich. He subsequently died at a nearby hospital at the age of 73.

Personal life

Soltész was married to Michaela Selinger, a mezzo soprano.

Recordings

Soltész conducted recordings such as excerpts from Puccini's La Bohème, Giuseppe Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni and Alexander von Zemlinsky's Der Kreidekreis, as well as arias and songs with Grace Bumbry, Lucia Popp and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In 2010, he recorded the Alban Berg's Lulu Suite and Hans Werner Henze's Appassionatamente plus with the Essen Philharmonic and soprano Julia Bauer, as part of the Ruhr being European Capital of Culture in 2010. The album was nominated for Grammy and ICMA awards.

Awards

• 2009 Citizen of the Ruhr District [de]
• 2012 Honorary conductor of the Staatsorchester Braunschweig
• 2013 Honorary professor of North Rhine-Westphalia

References

1. Brachmann, Jan (23 July 2022). "Zum Tod von Stefan Soltész: Mit Mut zur Drastik". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
2. "Stefan Soltész † – Dirigent". Theapolis (in German). Retrieved 23 July 2022.
3. ^ Umbach, Klaus (26 March 2007). "Musiktheater – In Rausch und Bogen. Mit der Don Giovanni-Einstudierung von Stefan Herheim ist der Essener Oper endgültig der Sprung in die europäische Spitzenklasse geglückt". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
4. "Stefan Soltesz". Munzinger Biographie (in German). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
5. ^ Fasel, Andreas Fasel (8 September 2001). ""Ich träume von einer Zauberflöte unserer Zeit"". Die Welt. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
6. ^ "Stefan Soltész / Conductor". Bolshoi Theatre. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
7. ^ "Stefan Soltész / Dirigent" (in German). Komische Oper Berlin. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
8. Hoffmans, Christiane (22 November 2011). "Kulturspitzen: Das hat Stefan Soltesz nicht verdient". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 23 July 2022.
9. ^ Goldmann, A.J. (23 July 2022). "Conductor Dies After Collapsing During Performance in Munich". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
10. Oostenrijkse dirigent Stefan Soltész zakt tijdens optreden in elkaar en overlijdt (in Dutch)
11. Dörfner, Antje (23 July 2022). "Dirigent Soltész stirbt nach Zusammenbruch im Nationaltheater". BR24 (in German). Retrieved 23 July 2022.
12. "München: Dirigent Stefan Soltesz bricht während Opernaufführung zusammen und stirbt". Die Welt (in German). 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
13. "Dirigent Stefan Soltész nach Zusammenbruch gestorben". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 23 July 2022.
14. Salazar, Francisco (22 July 2022). "Obituary: Hungarian Conductor Stefan Soltész Dies While Conducting at the Bayerische Staatsoper". OperaWire. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
15. Puccini, G.: Boheme (La) (Soltesz), Naxos Digital Services US Inc., 2013, OCLC 913821646
16. Don Giovanni (in Italian), Orfeo, 1990, OCLC 25048835
17. Der Kreidekreis (in German), Capriccio, 2013, OCLC 973644490
18. Berühmte Opernarien (in Italian and French), 1984, OCLC 958071389
19. Slavonic opera arias (in Czech and Russian), EMI Classics Red Line, 1997, OCLC 156463782
20. Wolf, H.: Vocal Music (Fischer-Dieskau, Munich Radio Orchestra, Soltesz), Naxos Digital Services US Inc., OCLC 950996204
21. Appassionatamente plus, Cybele Records, 2010, OCLC 664684377
22. "Appassionatamente plus / CD" (in German). Hans Werner Henze Stiftung. 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
23. "Appassionatamente plus". Schott Music. 19 December 2003. Retrieved 23 July 2022.

External links

• Stefan Soltész discography at Discogs
• Stefan Soltesz hilbert.de
• Stefan Soltész at IMDb

• Opera
• Classical music
• Austria

• 1949 births
• 2022 deaths
• Austrian male conductors (music)
• Music directors
• Austrian opera managers
• People from Nyíregyháza
• Austrian people of Hungarian descent
• Conductors (music) who died while conducting
• 20th-century Austrian conductors (music)
• 20th-century Austrian male musicians
• 21st-century Austrian conductors (music)
• 21st-century male musicians
• University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni