Richard Traubner

American, 1946 - 2013

Richard Traubner was a prominent scholar of opera, musical theater, film, and classical music, and perhaps the most important authority on operetta to ever come out of the United States. He attended Boston University and New York University, where he edited the newsletter of New York’s prestigious Gilbert and Sullivan Society. He was a frequent contributor to many publications, including Opera News, The New York Times, The Economist, and translated and wrote liner and program notes for opera and theater productions. He was not only a prolific writer but also a talented, accessible one, with “an easy style” and “superb scholarship.”