In addition to having a vibrant classical music concert scene, Washington is home to a number of classical performers and composers, like Nicholas Maw, composer of Sophie's Choice, who now makes his home in the Maryland suburbs. When a great performer dies, classical music fans everywhere mourn the loss of a favorite voice or sound, but when such a performer also happens to be a fellow Washingtonian, it hits closer to home for us here.

Such is the case with the highly respected bass-baritone Thomas Stewart, who passed away suddenly on Sunday while playing a round of golf near his home in Rockville. Stewart and his wife, Evelyn Lear, are known in Washington as the patrons of the Emerging Singers Program, under the auspices of the Washington Wagner Society. The couple gave generously of their time to help the next generation of classical singers, especially those interested in the works of Richard Wagner.

However, Thomas Stewart had his own career as an opera singer before that, and quite a storied one. The tribute came prominently from New York, where he sang for so many years at the Met, and other cities around the world whose opera houses he filled with sound: the official AP obit is running in many newspapers. Stewart made quite a name for himself in German houses, especially at the Bayreuth Festival (he is shown in the photograph here costumed as Amfortas in Parsifal), and there are notices in the German press, too. Tim Page's touching tribute to Stewart, his friend, ran in today's Post. Thomas Stewart is survived by his wife, Evelyn Lear, who is also a respected opera singer.