American opera singer Stephen Gould has died of bile duct cancer, his agent has confirmed.
The Phantom of the Opera star, who died on Tuesday, was 61.
“It was a great honor and pleasure to work with this outstanding artist and extraordinary personality for more than 20 years and to accompany his international career,” Stephanie Ammann said in a statement shared by PEOPLE.
“We will deeply miss and never forget him. He will always be in our hearts.”
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Gould began his career at the Lyric Opera of Chicago Centre for American Artists before staring as Raoul in the Broadway run of The Phantom of the Opera for eight years.
After some time training with baritone John Fiorito, he began starring in more operatic roles including Beethoven’s Fidelio, travelling around the world for further performances.
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The opera singer starred in over 3000 performances of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s most famous musical across his career.
Gould appeared at leading opera houses worldwide.
He was forced to withdraw from a scheduled appearance at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival in July, reportedly due to ill health.
Gould disclosed his health battle earlier this year via his official website via a statement.
He announced in August 2023 he would be retiring from performing due to his diagnosis.
“I was diagnosed with bile duct cancer with complications. It is Cholangio- Carcinoma, a fatal disease with an outlook of several months to 10 months,” the statement read.
“There is no cure.
“I did not wish anything to cloud this year’s achievements, and I am grateful to Bayreuth, for teaching me all that I could have hoped to know about the performance of this great musician’s works.”
He signed off: “With many [fond] memories… Stephen Gould.”
Gould had performed at the festival approximately 100 times over 18 years.
He is survived by his sister.