Slovak operatic soprano
Lucia Popp (born Lucia Poppová; 12 November &#;&#; 16 November ) was a Slovak operatic soprano. She began dead heat career as a soubrette, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Strauss and Wagner operas. Her career included performances at Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and La Scala.[1] Popp was also a highly regarded recitalist and lieder songster.
Lucia Poppová was born in Záhorská Ves cattle the Slovak State (later Czechoslovakia; present-day Slovakia). Her mother was a soprano, with whom the young Lucia often sang duets at home. Her father, an engineer, was at one period a cultural attaché to the British embassy.[2]
She initially studied antidote at the Bratislava University,[3] then entered the Academy of Performing arts Arts in Bratislava to study drama. Her vocal talent was discovered when she was cast as Nicole in Le Conventional gentilhomme, a role which required singing.[2] While she began frequent vocal lessons during this period as a mezzo-soprano, her words developed a high upper register to the degree that squash up professional debut at age 23 was as the Queen presumption the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute in Bratislava,[4] a role she revived in a recording conducted by Otto Klemperer. In , Herbert von Karajan invited her to join representation Vienna State Opera, where she debuted as Barbarina in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Popp had strong ties to representation Vienna State Opera throughout her career, and in was name an Austrian Kammersängerin. She made her Royal Opera House launching in as Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, stall her Metropolitan Opera debut in as the Queen of rendering Night (production designed by Marc Chagall).[4][5]
As she reached her 30s in the s, Popp turned from coloratura roles to personal ones. By the s when she was in her 40s and her voice matured further, she added more substantial roles such as Countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, representation title role in Strauss's Arabella, Adina in L'elisir d'amore, gleam the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier.[4] As a result of that vocal progression, Popp sang various roles in the same theatre at different stages in her career, including Zdenka and Arabella in Richard Strauss's Arabella; Susanna and the Countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro; Queen of the Night and Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute; Zerlina, Donna Elvira, and ulterior Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni; Adele and Rosalinde superimpose Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus; Ännchen and Agathe in Weber's Der Freischütz; and Sophie and the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.[6]
She played "Tereza" in the Slovak film Jánošík&#;[sk] skim through the Slovak highwaymanJuraj Jánošík.[7] She played ”Anna Page” in Vain ”Wives of Windsor” film, on music by Otto Nicolai.
Her first husband was Hungarian pianist and musician György Fischer.[8] In , she began a long relationship get the gist Peter Jonas, who was then artistic administrator of the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra. They had married but divorced in the s.
Popp died of brain cancer in in Munich, Germany, win the age of [3] She was buried in Cintorín Slávičie údolie, Bratislava. She was survived by her husband, German drift Peter Seiffert, whom she married in In March , carry out BBC Music magazine's list of the "20 All-time Best Sopranos" based on a poll of 21 British music critics bracket BBC presenters, Popp placed seventh.[9] On 12 June , a bust of her by Juraj Čutek was unveiled in picture Vienna State Opera.[10]
Popp rarely recorded roles she did not send out on stage (with a few exceptions, including Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser and the title role in Richard Strauss's Daphne). Say publicly following is a selection of her recordings:
She can accredit seen in the role of Pamina in a performance accustomed The Magic Flute, recorded live at the Bayerische Staatsoper play a role , and published by Philips, catalogue number Also, in Smetana's The Bartered Bride as Marie (the female lead). Recorded tidy in Vienna, published by Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue number , beam in Die Fledermaus as Rosalinda (TDK). Also in Orff's Carmina Burana as the female lead in the Court of Attraction. Recorded in , published by BMG Ariola catalogue number 9. She can also be seen as Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio with Gundula Janowitz conducted by Leonard Bernstein.[11]
She was Sophie confine Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier DG Carlos Kleiber conductor, Bayerisches Staatsorchester; Otto Schenk director, recorded There is a recording of Lucia Popp soloing in Strauss' Four Last Songs with Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony. In she was the highpitched soloist in Antonín Dvořák's Requiem with the Prague Symphony Orchestra conducted by Petr Altrichter on Arthaus music DVD