Opera singer Willy Caron has died in his hometown of The Hague at the age of 75.

The tenor broke through at the 1964 edition of the International Verdi Concours in Venice where he was hailed by the audience as the Dutch Caruso.

He performed across Europe and for ten years worked at the Städtische Oper in Cologne.

In the Netherlands, Willy Caron made many recordings as soloist with the Maastrechter Staar Choir and sang as soloist with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra directed by André Rieu Sr.

In 1998, he founded the Willy Caron Musical Theatre to make classical music accessible to a wide audience.

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