fell after his appearance in the finale from Faust. Gedda made his Royal Opera House Covent Garden début in 1954 as the Duke in Verdi's Rigoletto (in English). He returned in 1963 for La damnation de Faust and for Benvenuto Cellini (in 1966, 1969 and 1976); Alfredo in 1972, Gustavus III in 1977, Nemorino in 1981, Lensky (in 1979 and 1982) and Abdisu in Palestrina. Gedda's only foray in Wagner was the title role in Lohengrin in Stockholm in January 1966, where one critic wrote that his "command of intonation and rhythm contributed to an overwhelmingly beautiful impression right from his unaccompanied appearance in the first act". He was supposed to sing Lohengrin at the Bayreuth Festival in 1967, but his engagement for an American television film of Faust in the summer of that year prevented it. Gedda made more than 200 complete LP and CD recordings over a wide variety of styles and several of the roles may be considered among the most challenging in the entire operatic repertoire, notably Arnold in Rossini's Guillaume Tell and Arturo in I puritani, both requiring high notes and an easy legato line. In recordings he was also noted in lighter opera, whether the Viennese operettas of Strauss (Die Fledermaus, Eine Nacht in Venedig, Wienerblut) or Lehár (Die lustige Witwe, Das Land des Lächelns), in Bernstein (Candide) or Hahn (Ciboulette). He had a small role in the 1952 film Eldfågeln, in which he sang "Ack, Värmeland du sköna". A singer of unusual longevity, Gedda was active well into his late 70s; in May 2001 he recorded the role of the Emperor Altoum in Puccini's Turandot and the role of the High Priest in Mozart's Idomeneo in June 2003. Art song In addition to his opera performances, Gedda cultivated an active parallel career on the concert platform and as a recitalist, with a large repertoire of French, German, Scandinavian, and Russian art songs as well as larger works for the concert platform. As an interpreter of Lieder he performed for over 25 years with the pianist . Gedda's language skills, intellectual approach and musicality, as well as his extensive recordings, rendered him particularly indispensable in this genre. He also sang, and recorded, sacred music, including Russian liturgical music. His discography includes large-scale sacred works such as the Mozart Requiem, Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives, Missa solemnis and Ninth Symphony, Lélio, ou le