Gösta Winbergh

Swedish tenor Gösta Winbergh (1943-2002).
Winbergh was born in Stockholm. He was often mentioned as among Sweden's and the worlds finest tenors, included with Jussi Björling and Nicolai Gedda. Winbergh did not come from a music family: he was a building engineer when he watched his first opera performance in 1967 and then, upon this experience, decided that he wanted to be an opera singer. He applied for the opera class at Sweden's prestigious Royal Academy of Music, and was admitted on his first attempt. He trained at the school between 1969 and 71. He began singing at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, and gradually began to receive international attention in the 1980s when he guest performed on stages abroad. He later worked several times at the opera house in Zürich and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, USA. His leading performances in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Wagner's Lohengrin, Verdi's Rigoletto and Puccini's Turandot were particularly well received and celebrated.
Winbergh suffered a heart-attack and passed away in Vienna, Austria in 2002, where he was performing at the time.