Kurt Equiluz was a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983, remembered for roles such as Pedrillo in Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail.
14 Facts About Kurt Equiluz
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Kurt Equiluz appeared regularly at the Salzburg Festival, including world premieres such as Rolf Liebermann's Penelope in 1954.
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Kurt Equiluz recorded works by Johann Sebastian Bach with conductors such as Michel Corboz, Helmuth Rilling and Charles de Wolff, and prominently as the Evangelist in the first recording of Bach's St John Passion on period instruments with the Concentus Musicus Wien in 1965, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
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Kurt Equiluz was a member of the Wiener Sangerknaben, performing as an alto soloist.
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Kurt Equiluz was a member of the Wiener Akademie Kammerchor from 1945.
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Kurt Equiluz remained with the company until 1983, performing 69 different roles of the Spieltenor repertory, such as Jaquino in Beethoven's Fidelio and Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss.
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Kurt Equiluz took part in around 2000 performances, as Monostatos in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Trabuco in Verdi's La forza del destino, Goro in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Spoletta in Tosca, and Remendado in Bizet's Carmen, working with conductors such as Karl Bohm, Herbert von Karajan and Georg Solti.
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Kurt Equiluz regularly appeared at the Salzburg Festival operas and concerts, including the world premieres of Rolf Liebermann's Penelope, Frank Martin's Mystere de la Nativite, and Rudolf Wagner-Regeny's Das Bergwerk zu Falun.
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Kurt Equiluz was honoured by the title Kammersanger in 1980.
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Kurt Equiluz became known for his interpretation of Bach cantatas and oratorios in the historically informed performance recordings of Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt.
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Kurt Equiluz sang the Evangelist in both the first recording of Bach's St John Passion on period instruments with the Concentus Musicus Wien in 1965, and Bach's St Matthew Passion in its first recording with period instruments in 1970.
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Kurt Equiluz recorded the St John Passion, the St Matthew Passion and the Christmas Oratorio with Michel Corboz Kurt Equiluz recorded Bach cantatas with the Gachinger Kantorei and Helmuth Rilling.
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Kurt Equiluz recorded sacred music of the classical period with the Wiener Sangerknaben, such as Mozart's Missa solemnis in C minor, K 139 "Waisenhausmesse", his Coronation Mass, Haydn's Theresienmesse and Schubert's Mass No 6 in E-flat major, D 950.
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Kurt Equiluz started teaching in 1964, was appointed professor of the Musikhochschule of Graz in 1971, and of the Wiener Musikakademie in 1982.