Berry, Walter
Berry, Walter
Berry, Walter, admired Austrian bass-baritone; b. Vienna, April 8, 1929; d. Oct. 27, 2000. He studied engineering at the Vienna School of Engineering before pursuing vocal training with Hermann Gallos at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1950 he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc, and subsequently sang there regularly; he also appeared at the Salzburg Festivals (from 1952). In 1957 he made his U.S. debut as Mozart’s Figaro in Chicago. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Barak on Oct. 2, 1966, remaining on its roster until 1974 and returning for its 1975-76 and 1977-78 seasons. In 1976 he made his first appearance at London’s Covent Garden as Barak. He also sang in Berlin, Munich, Paris, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, and elsewhere. In 1957 he married Christa Lud-wig, with whom he appeared in opera and concert; they were divorced in 1970. In 1963 he was made an Austrian Kammersànger. Among his other roles were Leporello, Papageno, Telramund, Wotan, Escamillo, Baron Ochs, Wozzeck, and Dr. Schòn.
Bibliography
P. Lorenz, Christa Ludwig-W. B.: Eine Künstler Biographie (Vienna, 1968).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire