Artist Profile: Eva Marton, A Timeless Turandot

By David Salazar

Eva Marton, born on June 18, 1943, is arguably the most famous Hungarian soprano of the last few decades.

She studied at the Franz Liszt Academy and made her professional debut at Hungary’s Margaret Island Summer Festival. Then at the Hungarian State Opera, she appeared for the first time in “The Golden Cockerel” in 1968.

From there she made her debut at the Frankfurt Opera and Florence in 1972. She would continue to garner international repute in the 1970s, making debuts in Hamburg, San Francisco, Chicago, and La Scala in Milan. She also made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1976 in Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.”

Her career continued well into the 21st century and she achieved a Persian Golden Lioness Lifetime Achievement from The World Academy of Arts, Literature and Media – WAALM in 2006.

Signature Role

Marton will forever be linked with one major Puccini opera, even though she was a great Wagnerian soprano. “Turandot” is one that she dominated around the world, singing it for the first time in Vienna in 1983. She performed it over 100 times at such theaters as the Met Opera, La Scala, the Arena di Verona, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington Opera, Barcelona, and Houston Grand Opera. She appeared in six television and video productions of the opera and recorded the work twice in her career.

Read More on Eva Marton

A look at roles she has in common with Iréne Theorin

Watch and Listen

Here is a look at her famed “Turandot” with José Carreras.

And here is a rendition of her “Tosca.”

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