László Polgár 1947-2010

This afternoon, László Polgár passed away, unexpectedly. Tall and imposing, he was a powerful stage presence. And then that voice! So dark, yet so agile. The last time I heard him live was a concert performance of Tristan und Isolde Act 2. Nothing was going right, none of the singers was on the ball, conducting sloppy, as if it was a run-through. Then Polgár comes on. Even though he clearly had a heavy cold, he sang King Marke with such authority and dignity that it didn't seem out of character at all when he coughed. It was a bit late in the concert for him to save the show, but he was memorable.