NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Tenor Stephen Gould, who that he had been diagnosed with incurable bile duct cancer, has died. He was 61.
Gould's agent Stephanie Ammann confirmed the singer died Tuesday in Virginia. No other details were immediately available.
The singer withdrew this summer from the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, where he was scheduled to perform the title roles in 鈥淭annh盲user鈥� and 鈥淭ristan und Isolde鈥� and Siegfried in 鈥淕枚tterd盲mmerung.鈥�
Gould said he made the announcement after the Bayreuth Festival ended last week because 鈥淚 did not wish anything to cloud this year's achievements.鈥�
Frequently appearing as a heroic tenor, Gould performed at many of the world's great opera houses. He debuted in Richard Wagner鈥檚 鈥淩ing鈥� cycle in Bayreuth in 2006, earning raves during the challenging four-nights of performances.
The Associated Press called him 鈥渁 naturally engaging performer, unusually athletic and youthful as befits the teenage hero鈥� during his performance of the third 鈥淩ing鈥� show, 鈥淪iegfried.鈥�
According to the Mayo Clinic, biliary tract cancer often doesn鈥檛 cause any symptoms in the early stages. It鈥檚 often discovered by accident 鈥� for example, through routine blood tests or imaging done for an unrelated reason.
He is survived by his sister.
The Associated Press
