The American bass-baritone Monte Pederson has died at the age 43. He had been suffering from cancer.
It was announced at a press conference at the Bavarian State Opera that Pederson lost his fight against the disease last week.
Pederson was well known and much admired for his portrayal of the darker figures from the world of opera, such as the Dutchman in Wagner's opera.
Born in Sunnydale, Washington in 1958, Monte Pederson began his professional career with the San Francisco Opera. He grew increasingly identified with the role of the Dutchman and made his European debut in Montpellier in 1998 and Deutsche Oper Berlin debut in the role in 1989.
In 1990 he also debuted at the Chicago Lyric Opera as Claudius in Thomas' Hamlet, at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden as Pizarro in a new production of Fidelio under Christoph von Dohananyi, and at the Chatelet in Paris as Mefistopheles in Berlioz's Damnation de Faust.
On disc, Pederson can be heard in recordings of Schkreker's Die Gezeichneten (Decca) and Irrelohe (Sony Classical), Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa (DG) and Zemlinsky's König Kandaules (Capriccio).
