Peter Benecke

1952 - 2022

Peter Benecke
March 25, 1952 - December 4, 2022
Peter Ames Benecke - occupation: Opera Singer (40+ years) - was born: March 25, 1952, in Roseburg, OR, the fourth son of Ruth (Johnson) and William O. Benecke (brothers: Mark (Nan), Steve (deceased), and Jeff (Tomoko) Benecke). He grew up in Bellingham, WA and died of cancer December 4, 2022 ,in Windsor, CA. He married Jody (Smith) Benecke (44+ years) and had two daughters: Lydia Marie and Emily Rose Benecke, and one grandson: Kamal Orion Benecke Khan. He was loved by many nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws.
Peter's first musical theatre performance was in March 1970 when he starred as "King Arthur" in Lerner & Loewe's musical Camelot in his senior year at Bellingham High School.
Peter received his vocal performance education as an undergraduate at Western Washington University and as a graduate student at the University of Alberta in Canada. In 1976 Peter traveled to Santa Barbara, CA, to work with famed voice teacher and former Met Opera star baritone Martial Singher at The Music Academy of the West. There he was cast to perform as a gypsy ("El Remendado") in Bizet's opera Carmen, conducted by Maurice Abravanel of the Utah Symphony. Peter was paired with soprano Jody Smith who was singing the role of "Frasquita." The young couple found that they danced the famed "Danse bohème" (Gypsy Dance) in Act II very well together and also enjoyed one particular aspect of the staging for the opera – their first shared kiss! Peter and Jody remained happily together as dancing and kissing partners, marrying in Santa Barbara in 1978. Their marriage of 44+ years produced two lovely daughters Lydia Marie (husband Hamza Khan, son Kamal Orion Khan) and Emily Rose (husband Brett Farrell).
In 1981, the opera-singing couple moved to Germany, where they stayed for almost 20 years. Peter was engaged as a fulltime opera singer at the famed Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf where he sang as a member of the solo ensemble. When he was introduced as a "new young American tenor" in concert with the Apollo-Chor in the Düsseldorf Tonhalle, the review noted that he'd received "the opportunity, before a large audience, to demonstrate his lyric voice . . . and convincingly clear bright tone." Subsequent engagements at the Wuppertaler Bühnen and guest appearances with many other companies accounted for his growing list of operatic repertoire.
Critics took note that onstage Peter performed with "such passion that the heartiest applause was his!" He was praised for his "flawless singing" and his "German accent" (as "Wenzel" in The Bartered Bride). He was a versatile performer, receiving a thumbs up for performing with "discreet, yet pointed comedy" (as "Triquet" in Eugene Onegin). In Lady Macbeth von Mzensk, Peter's presence was singled out for his one short scene as one of the "singing actors of superlative quality" in the company. For his appearance with the Wuppertalerbühnen in Hänsel und Gretel, the review was glowing: "The positive discovery of the evening was Peter Benecke as the Witch. With his smoothly-managed voice and complete theatrical engagement – especially on the Witch's Broomstick Ride – he was the real star of the production!" He could also be charming onstage and received the most (female) fan mail while he was performing in the role of "Freddy" in the German version of My Fair Lady (singing that well-known aria "Weil ich weiß in der Straße wohnst du!"
Peter performed in a range of classic operas from Mozart to Strauß, Verdi and Wagner. He had a reputation for being able to sight-read almost anything – even modern music. This skill came in handy and saved the day for the Musiktheater in Revier in Gelsenkirchen in March of 1992 when the newspaper reported that "The nightmare for any opera company" had occurred when the primary tenor in a "world premiere" modern opera The Visit (Besuch der alten Dame) became too ill to sing and no one else in the world knew the role! Peter, who was performing in a different opera in the company, was tapped while he was at lunch in the staff cantina: Could he sight-read the role?! If he could, the director would play the part onstage and Peter would sing it from the orchestra pit while looking at the music. Peter went through the score with the conductor and then agreed. The premiere was performed successfully that same evening, thanks to Peter! As the newspaper article said, "Practically just another normal day in the theater . . ."
The Benecke family moved back to the US in 2000 and to Santa Rosa in 2006, where Jody had been offered the fulltime job as Vocal Music Instructor (and now Music Department Chair) at Santa Rosa Junior College. While officially "retired" from singing, Peter still managed to get in some performances with the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria in the Theaterfest production of Sweeney Todd (as "Beadle Bamford") and appeared in the SRJC Theatre Arts production of The Phantom of the Opera (as "Ubaldo Piangi"). Peter was especially known, however, for joyfully singing the loudest and most impressive "Happy Birthday!" to anyone who was lucky enough to be celebrating, whether at a private party, or in a restaurant, or even at Lynmar Estate's tasting room where he serenaded SNL star Rachel Dratch on her 50th. Peter burst into "O sole mio" while climbing the rigging of the tall ship "The Lady Washington" – surprising the crew and delighting the tourists. Anyone who sang in the chorus for the annual Redwood Empire Sing-Along Messiah got a good dose of possibly one of the strongest (loudest certainly) deliveries by the tenor section of "And He shall reign forever and ever!" in the Hallelujah Chorus!
Peter loved his work leading wine tastings over many years at Lynmar Estate Winery and, subsequently, for Williams Selyem Winery as well. He loved his voice students and they, in turn, loved him. Most of all, he loved his family, who were the center of his life. He was certainly the center of theirs.
Please support music and the arts in your schools. You will be memorializing Peter every time you attend an opera, a musical theatre production, a concert, or support a young singer who is chasing a dream. Dance and sing. Drink some wine. Life's too short to say negative things. Live and love now. Peter, you will remain in our (best) hearts!