A great Wagnerian singer and Brünnhilde in the 1998 Adelaide Ring found dead at 75.

American soprano Janis Martin, who sang the key role of Brünnhilde in the 1998 Adelaide Ring, the first staging in Australia of Wagner’s massive tetralogy since 1913, was found dead at her home in San Antonio, Texas on 15 December. She was 75.

Janis Martin was well known for her mastery of major roles by Wagner and Richard Strauss. She was a regular at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, and appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and other leading opera houses. She recorded many Wagnerian roles, including that of the ‘pants’ role of Adriano for EMI in Wagner’s first great success Rienzi, with the Staatskapelle Dresden (which Wagner himself had conducted). Her performances of one of opera’s most demanding roles in Adelaide in 1998 were described as thrilling. She retired from the stage in 2000.