Opera Singer Cesare Siepi Dies 7/5

Opera singer Cesare Siepi died Monday in Atlanta at the age of eighty-seven, the Associated Press reports.  The cause of death was a stroke.

Siepi had performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera hundreds of times between 1950 and the early 1970s, most prominently in the title role in DON GIOVANNI and as Mephistopheles in FAUST.  He performed all the major roles of the bass repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera and also performed at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Salzburg Festival, and the Vienna State Opera.  Siepi also frequently performed in concert.

In addition, Siepi appeared in two musicals on Broadway, BRAVO GIOVANNI and CARMELINA.  He is survived by his wife, ballerina Luellen Sibley, and their two children.