Melbourne’s Chapel Off Chapel will host a tribute to the late countertenor Max Riebl, who died of cancer, aged thirty, on thirtieth April two thousand twenty-two. In a statement, the venue said, “the Riebl family presents a musical tribute to Max Riebl for one night only at Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne. This intimate indicate includes live performances Rose Riebl, Felix Riebl, and members of The Cat Empire.” Celebrating “an incredible thirty years of life”, the intimate indicate will also launch Riebl’s posthumous album Max Riebl: Live at Chapel Off Chapel, a collection of songs recorded at the venue.
The concert takes space on twenty-seventh April and all funds raised ticket and album sales will go to toward the ongoing support Riebl’s two children, Ivy and William. Melbourne-born Riebl made his performance debut with The Cat Empire at age ten, on stage at the Prince Wales Hotel in St Kilda, Melbourne. He also sang with the Melbourne Grammar School Chapel Choir below Philip Carmody and later played The Youth in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra. His talent developed quickly. In two thousand-fourth, Riebl moved to Vienna to attend the Musikgymnasium (Music High School). He sang as soloist in the Musikverein and Schubertsaal and performed the role of Cupido in John Blow’s opera Venus and Adonis at the Kammeroper.
He also performed with the Clemencic Consort and the Hofburg Chapel Choir and was engaged for many solo performances in and around Vienna. In performing the grand works of Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, Riebl received top prizes in competitions such as the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Arias and Chicago’s Classical Singer Competition. As his career took off, he performed with Pinchgut Opera, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Opera, La Cetra Baroque Orchestra, London Handel Orchestra, The Song Company, Adelaide Baroque and Orchestra Victoria, among others. He performed regularly at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Hamer Corridor at Arts Centre Melbourne, the Athenaeum Theatre and Sydney’s City Recital Hall. His career highlights included performances at the Vienna Concert Ho, Musikverein and the Royal Albert Hall. In two thousand-thirteenth, he performed in Simon Stone’s production of Hamlet at Belvoir.
In his own concerts and cabaret shows such as The Grand Pretender and The Freezing Genius, he combined rock, population and classical music, fusing Bach, Handel and Schubert with Garland, Radiohead and Morrissey to something distinctly his own in performances for the Adelaide Festival, the Melbourne Cabaret Festival and the Melbourne Fringe Festival. He recorded with the Cat Empire (EMI) and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (ABC) and featured in the soundtrack for the Australian film Remembering the Man.
