Deon van der Walt
Deon van der Walt (28 July 1958 – 29 November 2005), was a South African tenor. Van der Walt studied singing at Stellenbosch University and made his debut as Jaquino in Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the Cape Town Opera before he had graduated. Numerous scholarships and awards allowed him to continue his studies abroad. In 1981, he won the in Salzburg. His first formal engagement took him to Gelsenkirchen's Musiktheater im Revier, then to the Staatsoper Stuttgart and Zurich Opera. He was invited to perform at the Royal Opera House in London in 1985 and  there made his debut as Almaviva in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville". He was counted amongst the leading lyric tenors of his day and performed at all the world's major opera houses, including He also performed at numerous international festivals, especially at the Salzburg Festival, where he sang Belmonte in Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio" and Ferrando in "Così fan tutte" under Riccardo Muti. On video, he can be seen in Handel's "Semele" as Jupiter, singing a long, beautifully shaped "Where'er you walk"; in Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix" with Edita Gruberová; and in "La belle  Hélène". Deon van der Walt died at 47 on his family's vineyard in South Africa, shot by his father, who then committed suicide.