World famous baritone and opera star as well as former Swedish Eurovision entrant Ingvar Wixell passed away on Saturday, the 8th of October, aged 80.
Ingvar Wixell represented Sweden at the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest with Annorstädes Vals (Absent Friends), coming in 10th with 6 points. The star experienced a meteoric rise to stardom in the mid 1950’s, shortly after completing his military service. Without any previous operatic training, he came to Stockholm and enrolled at the National Operatic Academy while at the same time making his debut as Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. He was given a tenure at the opera in Stockholm until 1967, when his career took him to West Berlin. He ended up at the Deutsche Oper, where he stayed for an impressive 31 years.
Wixell was awarded numerous accolades for his performances and work on an international basis. His talent also led him to be awarded the prestigious title of "Kammersänger" chamber singer, roughly corresponding to "Singer to the Royal Court", also a title bestowed upon him in his native Sweden in 1973. Wixell was also awarded the German distinction Großes Verdientskreuz – the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1979. The singer was also appointed member of the Royal Musical academy in 1980.
Ingvar Wixell sang all six songs in the 1965 edition of Melodifestivalen, where Annorstädes Vals was the runaway winner with 50 points, beating Stilla och Tyst into second place with 28 points.
