Tenor Mark Lundberg, who was to sing Samson in the Pittsburgh Opera's season-opening production of "Samson & Dalila," died Aug. 15 on Long Island, New York, following a brief illness, his management announced yesterday.

"He was a fine singer who made a great contribution to the opera stages of the world," said Christopher Hahn, who expects to announce a new Samson soon.

-- Post-Gazette classical music critic Andrew Druckenbrod