Stephen Sondheim was a composer and lyricist.
He wrote the lyrics for musicals like "West Side Story" and "Sweeney Todd".
Now he has died at the age of 91.
Roxbury (Connecticut) - Great sadness in the world of musicals: Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim has died at the age of 91.
He was a composer and wrote lyrics for popular musicals such as "West Side Story" and "Sweeney Todd".
According to information from the
German Press Agency
, Todd died on Friday (local time) in Roxbury, Connecticut, USA.
Musical legend Stephen Sondheim is dead: He was involved in "West Side Story", "Sweeney Todd" and "Gypsy"
During his career, Sondheim was showered with prestigious awards.
Critics also attested to having
decisively further developed the form and content of musical theater.
At Sondheim, there weren't any greasy love stories that always ended well, but rather the big questions and positive and negative emotions in life.
Despite the old age, Sondheim's death came as a surprise, as the
New York Times reported
, citing his lawyer F. Richard Pappas.
The day before, the theater legend celebrated Thanksgiving with friends.
Stephen Sondheim is dead: the Broadway legend received several prestigious awards during his lifetime
Sondheim was born into a wealthy Jewish family in New York, he then grew up temporarily in Pennsylvania. Relations with his parents, who later divorced, were difficult. Sondheim made friends with James Hammerstein and got to know his father, the composer and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, who became his mentor and paved his way into the industry. Sondheim made his breakthrough at the age of 25 when he wrote the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein's successful musical "West Side Story".
In the following decades, Sondheim worked for theater, film and television and collected prizes: an Oscar, several Tonys and Grammys, the Pulitzer Prize and in 2014 the US President's Peace Medal, which is one of the highest civilian awards in the USA.
Particularly successful musicals included "Sweeney Todd", "Gypsy" and "Sunday in the Park with George".
(
jbr / dpa
)
The German television world is also in great mourning: Actor Volker Lichtenbrink died at the age of 77.