SA tenor dies in family killing
2005-11-29 22:26
Johannesburg - The bodies of world-famous South African opera star Deon van der Walt and his father have been found on their wine estate near Paarl after what seems to have been a family killing.
Van der Walt, 47, was shot in the chest and his father, Sarel "Charles" van der Walt, 78, had a single shot to the head.
A revolver was found next to him, said police spokesperson Randall Stoffels.
He said Van der Walt's mother, Sheila, had found the bodies on her return to Veenwouden from a shopping trip.
Police were called to the farm at 14:30, Stoffels said.
However, he added, it seemed as if the shooting had taken place at about midday.
"Both men's cars were parked outside the house," he said.
"But the men were nowhere to be seen.
"She (Van der Walt's mother) eventually found their bodies in her son's room," said Stoffels.
He said a .38 revolver licenced to Van der Walt sen was taken for forensic tests.
Stoffels said police were investigating the possibility of a murder/suicide.
A lawyer for the Van der Walt family said they were too shocked to comment.
But he emphasised that rumours about money rows and credit-card fraud were unfounded.
Van der Walt made his debut as Jaquino in Fidelio at the-then Nico Malan in Cape Town even before graduating.
In 1981, he won the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg.
He was invited to perform at Covent Garden in London in 1985 and there made his debut as Almaviva in Rossini's Barber of Seville.
Since then, Van der Walt was counted among the leading tenors and has performed at all the world's major opera houses, including La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, as well as the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Liceu in Barcelona and the Metropolitan in New York.
He was particularly successful in Mozart Year 1991 as Tamino in the Magic Fluteunder the direction of Sir Georg Solti.