Wenkoff Spas
Wenkoff Spas
Wenkoff Spas Bulgarian tenor; b. Tirnovo, Sept. 23,1928. He received his training from Jossifow in Sofia, Safirowa in Russe, and Kemter in Dresden. In 1954 he made his operatic debut as Kote in Dolidse’s Keto und Kote in Tirnovo. After singing in Russe (1962-65), Döbeln (1965-68), Magdeburg (1968-71), and Halle (1971-75), he appeared as Tristan at the Dresden State Opera in 1975. From 1976 he sang at the Berlin State Opera. In 1976 he made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Tristan, and continued to appear there until 1983. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Tristan on Jan. 9,1981. In 1982 he sang Tannhäuser at the Vienna State Opera. In 1984 he appeared at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He sang Tannhäuser in Bern in 1987. In addition to his Heldentenor roles, he also sang roles in operas by Verdi and Puccini.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire