Tenor Stephen Gould is retiring

The American, who had shaped the Bayreuth Festival in recent years, has to say goodbye to the stage for health reasons, his management announced yesterday. The 62-year-old is considered one of the most important heroic tenors of recent decades.

Career start in Linz

The tenor began his career at the Landestheater in Linz, as he told the OÖ Nachrichten in June this year: “Linz was my last chance.” At that time he was already 38 years old and had had a career full of setbacks. Trained as a baritone in Boston, he had to play tenor parts on his first engagement in Chicago because no baritone was needed. For years he sang with the wrong technique, went on tour as a musical singer, until he finally found a teacher in New York who helped him find his voice. He then applied for engagements at opera houses in Europe, but received refusal after refusal because of his age, until the Linz director at the time, Michael Klügl, redeemed him.

This summer Stephen Gould had to cancel his appearance at the Salzkammergut Open Air in Gmunden, and then his engagements in Bayreuth. He did not give any details about his health problems. Now Gould wants to teach young singers in master classes.