Leo Goeke (Tenor)

Born: November 6, 1936 - Kirksville, Missouri, USA

The American tenor, Leo Goeke, studied at Louisiana University, then at the State University of Iowa with David Lloyd, and in New York with Hans Heinz and Margaret Harshaw.

Leo Goeke devoted himself mainly to the lyric tenors, singing such roles as the Duke in Rigoletto, Ernesto in Don Pasquale by Donizetti, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème, Count Almaviva in Barber of Seville, Tom Rakewell in The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky and the tenor roles in Mozart operas. He was heard in the operas of Baltimore and Seattle, at the New York City Center Opera, in Strasbourg, Amsterdam and at the Glyndebourne Festival. There he sang in 1973 Flamand in Capriccio by R. Strauss, in 1975-1978 Tom Rakewell, in 1974 Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo, in 1977 Don Ottavio and in 1978 Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. In 1970 he was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera New York, where he made his debut as Gaston in La Traviata and later appeared as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Ferrando Cosi fan tutte, Alfredo in La Traviata and the Duke in Rigoletto. He was also linked with the State Opera of Stuttgart, where he participated in 1981 in the German premiere of the opera Satyagraha by Philip Glass.

Leo Goeke appeared successfully alsi in the concert hall. In 1969, he appeared at the Carmel Bach Festival under Sandor Salgo.

Recordings: RCA (Beppe in Pagliacci); Pickwick-Video (Don Giovanni from Glyndebourne, 1977; The Rake's Progress), Longman-Video ('Zauberflöte').

Source: Operissimo Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (December 2011)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (December 2011)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Sandor Salgo

Tenor

BWV 198, BWV 244 [5^th]

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