Johan Botha as Siegmund at the Bayreuth Festival. Photo: Bayreuther Festspiele
Johan Botha (19 August 1965 – 8 September 2016) has performed at leading opera venues around the world, such as the Bayreuth Festival, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House (London), La Scala and the Salzburg Festival. He died of cancer on 8 September 2016 at the age of 51.
One of the finest monuments in sound ever to have been raised to the everlasting glory of music. (Claude Debussy on Parsifal)
"The thing about Wagner is that there can be no true success in any production of his operas, only degrees of failure. There is so much in these bloody pieces, all you can do is try to live up to them." (Keith Warner, The Guardian)
"I have never come across an audience with so much hatred, so much anger, such a thirst for revenge. They take everything personally. It makes you a little bit scared, and it's really quite terrifying." (Lance Ryan on the audiences at Bayreuth)
"People sometimes complain that Wagner operas are too long, that they get stiff and sore about 10.30 because they have rushed in to hear one of his works straight from work and are not properly prepared for listening to his music. The audience, as much as the artists, must be prepared for a performance."
(Benjamin Britten to Alan Blyth, Gramophone)
"I was bowled over. It was the year after Wieland Wagner had died; to be able to see his productions was a total knock-out. These bare stagings, where everything was done with lighting. The light changed with the music, and the shadows and patterns seemed as archetypal as the music itself. Nobody had done that on the stage before. I thought it was extraordinary and wonderful."
(Patrick Carnegy to The Guardian)
