Legendary soprano Ileana Cotrubaș has died at the age of 87.
Born in Galați, Romania on June 9, 1939, Cotrubaș grew up in a musical family with her father, Vasile a tenor in an amateur choir.
At the age of nine, she began her musical career becoming a member of the children’s radio choir and at the age of 11, she was one of its leading soloists. The soprano went on to study at the Școala Specială de Muzică in Bucharest and made her stage debut with the Bucharest Opera in 1964 in a production of Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande.”
In 1965, Cotrubaș won the first prize of the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch in Netherlands and the following year won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. Those awards led to her debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper where she would eventually sign a three year contract in 1970, Hamburg State Opera, Berlin State Opera and Salzburg Festival, as well as a contract with Oper Frankfurt.
In 1969, she made her U.K. debut at the Glyndebourne Festival and in 1971, she made her Royal Opera House debut in a production of ‘Eugene Onegin.”
Her U.S. debut would come next at the Lyric Opera of Chicago where she sang “La bohème” in 1973. However, her breakthrough came in 1975 when she replaced Mirella Freni at the Teatro alla Scala in “La bohème.” According to reports she only arrived at the theaters 15 minutes before curtain call and astounded critics and audiences.
Her Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1977, also in “La bohème” where she would perform 50 times. She would go on to sing in productions of “Rigoletto,” ‘La Traviata,” “Eugene Onegin,” “Carmen” and “Idomeneo” at the New York theater and star in three telecasts for the company.
In 1981, Cotrubaș was named Austrian Kammersängerin, and in 1991, she became an Honorary Member of the Wiener Staatsoper. She also received the order ‘Grande-Oficial de San’Iago da Espada’ in Portugal and became an Honorary Citizen of Bucharest.
The soprano retired from the stage in 1990 and devoted her time to working with young singers such as Angela Gheorghiu and Elena Tsallagova. In 1998 she published her book “Opernwahrheiten” (Truth in Opera), which spoke out against “Regietheater.”
Throughout her career, Cotrubaș sang numerous roles and became most recognized for her Violetta in “La Traviata.” She also sang works by Mozart and Strauss.
She left a huge recording legacy behind both visual and audio. Among her most famous recordings are “La Traviata” with Plácido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes, “Rigoletto,” also with Domingo, “La bohème” with Luciano Pavarotti, ” Carmen” with Teresa Berganza, “Louise” with Domingo,” and “Manon” with Alfredo Kraus.
FRANCISCO SALAZAR, (Publisher) has worked as a journalist for more than a decade with multiple publications. He is a media producer and a classically trained cellist.
With OperaWire he has lectured at Bard College and been featured on Fred Plotkin, Jennifer Rowley and Angel Blue's programs.
He holds a Masters in Media Management from the New School and a Bachelor's in Film Production and Italian studies from Hofstra University.
