Vocalist Dies Unexpectedly After Illness: Paul Charles Clarke Was 59

International tenor Paul Charles Clarke has died. Clarke passed away on Sunday, Jan. 26 following “a year long battle” with an unspecified illness, his agent, Christopher Carroll, confirmed in a statement on behalf of Clarke’s family. Clarke was 59.

“After a year long battle with illness, Paul sadly passed away on Sunday morning. Despite this illness his passing was unexpected, and has come as a shock to all of us,” the statement read, per Slipped Disc. “This is still very raw and we are trying to help each other process this. Therefore, at this difficult time, and out of respect for Paul, we ask that any kind messages of condolences be sent privately to the family or via Christopher Carroll, who can pass them on. We would love to hear your warm words, just not through a social media post.”

Born in Liverpool, Clarke studied at the Royal College of Music, where he was a Peter Pears scholar and won the Kathleen Ferrier prize in 1989. After making his professional debut with Welsh National Opera, per his biography, he went on to enjoy a successful decades-long career that saw him perform with leading companies globally, including the Dallas Opera, Minnesota Opera the Dallas Opera, Minnesota Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Royal Danish Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin; Seattle Opera, Salzburger Festspiele, Santa Fe Opera, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and Scottish Opera, among others.

He was known for the title roles in Benvenuto Cellini, Werther, and Don Carlos, as well as for productions of Die Fledermaus and Káťa Kabanová. He also held the roles of Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra, Don Jose in Carmen, Macduff in Macbeth, and Pollione in Norma.

Clarke appeared in concert with Orchestre National du Capitole Toulouse, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Philharmonisches Orchester Kiel, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He embarked on a European Tour with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Bruckner Te Deum with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

He worked closely with conductors like James Levine, Lorin Mazel, Carlo Rizzi, Sir Mark Elder, Semyon Bychkov, Seiji Ozawa, and Kirill Petrenko, among numerous others. He recorded the Grammy nominated The Bartered Bride with Sir Charles Mackerras, Faust with David Parry, and Simon Boccanegra Live from the New Zealand Festival. His other discography includes Arturo Lucia di Lammermoor, Tybalt Romeo et Juliette, and Adorno Simon Boccanegra.

According to Carroll, Clarke “was a devoted partner to Mandy; a loving and proud father to Antonia, and his stepsons Dominic, James, and Matthew; brother to David and his family.”