We have been notified of the death of Peter Strummer, master of 120 roles and a memorable cast member of leading US opera companies. By some mishap he sang only two roles at the Met. Peter died yesterday of a rapid stomach cancer.
He was married to the dramatic soprano Linda Roark-Strummer.
His origins were difficult:
‘I was born in Vienna, Austria, to Holocaust survivors. My maternal grandparents were in the theater. Max Scheindel, my grandfather, was a very famous actor/director in the golden age of operetta. He was friends with the most famous singers and actors of his time: Franz Lehár, Paul Abraham, Nico Dostal, Edmund Eysler, etc. He was friends with Richard Tauber, and discovered Joseph Schmidt. After WWII, he was appointed Intendant of Vienna’s Raimondteather, the home of the Wienervolksoper, after the building had been destroyed.
‘We were living in the Russian zone, of Vienna, after the war and my grandfather was afraid that it would end up, like Berlin. They emigrated to Canada. There, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he founded a Viennese Operetta Theater, a Yiddish theater, and was one of the founders of the Manitoba Theater Center. He also advised the restructuring of the New Stratford Festival. It was under these conditions that I grew up and watched my grandfather work. There was nothing else I ever wanted to do. Fortunately, my voice developed in such a way that I was able to fulfill my dreams. It was my destiny….’
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