The opera world is mourning the American tenor Stephen Gould, who died on Tuesday at the age of sixty-one. For nearly twenty years at Bayreuth he was a committed and accomplished exponent of Wagner's intractable lead tenor roles. I was present for his début there, in Tannhäuser, in 2004, and wrote: "He has a powerful, flexible, beautiful voice, and, wonder of wonders, he is a charismatic actor. He sounded just as vivid at the end of the opera as he did at the beginning, which is a sign that he has the stamina for the biggest Wagner roles." This proved to be the case. What's more, he was a widely loved colleague, noted for his thoughtful engagement with whatever peculiar scenarios directors devised for him.
