Julius Rudel

Among the most prominent American conductors and opera administrators stood Julius Rudel, whose work centered chiefly on the lyric stage. Music seized his attention from childhood onward, drawing him regularly to Vienna Philharmonic programs where he observed leading maestros of the era—Knappertsbusch, Furtwängler, and Walter among them. Formal training began at the Academy of Music in Vienna; however, the Nazi occupation of Austria compelled him to emigrate, after which he completed his studies at the Mannes School of Music in New York and received his diploma in 1943. Naturalization as a U.S. citizen took place the following year.

Upon finishing his coursework, Rudel joined the musical staff of the New York City Opera and assisted in the preparation of productions. His first professional podium appearance occurred with that company on November 25, 1944. He stayed with the NYCO for thirty-five seasons, assuming the roles of principal conductor and general director in 1957. One of his shrewdest appointments brought soprano Beverly Sills into the company as a principal artist. Already drawn to operas composed before Mozart and to the then-overlooked repertory of Italian bel canto, Rudel programmed Handel, Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini with regularity. These scores suited the voices of Sills and her frequent collaborator, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, lending the NYCO seasons a vitality that contrasted with the more conventional offerings of the rival Metropolitan Opera Company, which became the NYCO’s Lincoln Center neighbor during the 1960s. American operas also received consistent advocacy throughout his tenure.

While leading the NYCO, Rudel appeared frequently in major houses abroad and at home, conducting in Vienna, Munich, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, Rome, London, Hamburg, Berlin, and, on occasion, the Met itself. He served as the first music director of both the Kennedy Center in Washington and the Wolf Trap Festival.

Rudel departed the City Opera in 1979 to devote greater attention to symphonic repertoire. He accepted the post of music director with the Buffalo Philharmonic and appeared often with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York, recording works by Weill, Schubert, and Mozart for the MusicMasters label. Engagements also took him to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and additional ensembles. Opera remained central to his schedule, with further appearances at the Met, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Bastille Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, and the Deutsche Oper of Berlin.

Numerous opera recordings brought him several Grammy nominations and one win. In 1961 Austria honored him with a special award for distinguished service to the arts and sciences; he was likewise named Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in France and received distinctions from Israel and Germany along with several honorary doctorates. New York City marked his seventy-fifth birthday in 1996 by declaring “Julius Rudel Day,” an occasion he marked by leading Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera.