G. Winbergh, 58; Lyrical, Dramatic Swedish Tenor

Goesta Winbergh, the Swedish tenor who sang the title role in Wagner’s “Lohengrin” for the Los Angeles Opera in September, has died. He was 58.

Winbergh sang the role of Florestan in Beethoven’s “Fidelio” on Sunday for the Vienna State Opera. He returned to his apartment after the performance and apparently suffered a heart attack during the night. His body was found in his bed Monday.

The L.A. Opera “Lohengrin”--a milestone for the company because it was the first work by Wagner produced during Placido Domingo’s tenure as artistic director of the company and the first led by the company’s new principal conductor, Kent Nagano--was called a resounding success by Times critic Mark Swed, who described Winbergh as a “satisfyingly ardent singer with [a] generously lyrical [voice].”

“I have lost a dear friend whom I have admired deeply,” Domingo said Wednesday. “The world has lost an irreplaceable artist, a true heldentenor in the grand tradition. We had discussed his return to Los Angeles Opera with a number of possible future projects, and I’m extremely saddened by this tragedy.”

Born in Stockholm, Winbergh studied at the opera school there and made his stage debut in 1973 in Goteborg in southwestern Sweden as Rodolfo in Puccini’s “La Boheme.” He was a member of the Royal Opera in Stockholm from 1973 to 1981, singing mostly lyrical roles such as Tamino in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and Nemorino in Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love.”

Winbergh made his U.S. debut in 1974 at the San Francisco Opera, singing Don Ottavio in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” It was in this role that he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1983, soon becoming a regular singer in that house.

He was a permanent guest artist at the Zurich Opera, where he made his debut in 1981 and where he sang his first Lohengrin in 1991, as well all the major Mozart roles. Winbergh performed in important opera houses around the world, and recorded for Decca, EMI, Erato and Sony Classical.

He is survived by his wife, Elena, and three children.