Opera impresario Julius Rudel dies in New York

Julius Rudel, who headed the New York City Opera for over two decades, died of natural causes in his New York home on Thursday (26.06.2014). The famed Austrian conductor led numerous opera productions around the world. He was 93 at the time of his death.

Rudel was in his early 20s when he debuted as a conductor with the New York City Opera, ultimately becoming its reform-minded general director and principal conductor in 1979. The opera house, once dubbed "the people's opera" by a New York mayor, closed due to bankruptcy in 2013.

"I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would outlive the company," Rudel told "The New York Times" last fall.

Rudel was born in Vienna, but his Jewish family fled to the US in 1938. Although most closely associated with the New York City Opera, Rudel frequently led productions at the city's Metropolitan Opera. The star conductor was also a regular guest at major opera houses, including the Vienna Staatsoper, the Paris Opera and the Los Angeles Music Center Opera.

Last year, Rudel's memoir, "First and Lasting Impressions: Julius Rudel Looks Back on a Life in Music," was published by the University of Rochester Press.

gsw/nm (dpa, AP)