Ludovic Spiess

Ludovic Spiess was a Romanian operatic tenor who was born in Cluj, Kingdom of Romania, in 1938. He achieved early professional recognition in 1962 after a debut as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto and was famous for his international career as a spinto tenor and for his debut at the Salzburg Festival (1967) as Dmitri in Boris Godunov. Spiess made an international debut at the Vienna State Opera (1968) as Radames in Aida, where he eventually performed 11 different roles. His operatic repertoire included the roles of Florestan in Fidelio, Canio in Pagliacci, and Rodolfo in La bohème. He also authored the book Cu Ludovic Spiess prin teatrele lirice ale lumii (1989). For his contributions to the arts, Spiess received the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (2002) and an honorary doctorate from the National University of Music Bucharest (2004). Spiess died in 2006.