Robert Reid Van Valkenburg, Jr.

Robert Reid Van Valkenburg, Jr. 65, of New York City and Chatham, NJ, died unexpectedly of natural causes at home in early February. He was the son of the Robert R. Van Valkenburg, Sr. and Ann Steck Van Valkenburg, also of Chatham, both deceased. His grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Fred S. Van Valkenburg of Waterbury, CT and Mr. and Mrs. William F. Steck of Williamsport, PA. Robert graduated from Chatham High School in 1965, attended Boston University and graduated from The Boston Conservatory in 1970 with BM degree in Voice Performance. Robert made his living as a professional opera singer for over four decades. he performed more than forty leading roles in opera and operetta with regional companies in the U.S. such as NJ State Opera, Lake George Opera Festival, NY Grand Opera, DiCapo Opera, Opera Theatre of NJ, Colorado Opera Festival, Augusta Opera, Peoria Opera, Viennese Operetta of NY. Liederkranz Society of NY, Gloriana Productions and Amato Opera. he especially enjoyed singing the works of Verdi, most notably the roles of “Riccardo” in Ballo in Maschera, “Radames” in Aida and the title roles in Don Carlo and Otello. Robert was also a lover of French Opera, especially the unique works of Le Cid and Werther as well as German opera and Viennese operetta, having perfomred leading roles in Lehar’s Das Land des Lachelns and the American premiere of the title role in Der Zarewitsch at Alice Tully Hall in 1986. Robert performed numerous concerts of all types over the years, including on cruise ships internationally and at various NYC restaurants, especially his beloved “Rossini” for over 25 years.