Teresa Berganza

Teresa Berganza ( born March 16, 1935 in Madrid) is a Spanish opera singer in the vocal range mezzo- soprano. She is especially known for roles in operas by Rossini, Mozart and Bizet and projects through their technical virtuosity, musical intelligence and her impressive stage presence.

Life

She studied piano and singing at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Real Madrid, where she was awarded in 1954 as the best in professional singing. In 1955 she gave her debut concert in Madrid.

She first appeared in an opera she had in 1957 as Dorabella in Così fan tutte during the Aix -en- Provence Festival. In the same year, she debuted in La Scala in Milan and the following year at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. In 1959 she appeared as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, this should be one of her signature roles. In 1967 she made ​​her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. Her first appearance at Carnegie Hall, she had in 1964 with a recital. Her repertoire includes pieces in Spanish, French, German and Russian languages ​​.

She was married from 1957 to 1977 with pianist Félix Lavilla, with whom she performed together regularly and recordings published and with whom she has three children, including soprano Cecilia Lavilla Berganza.

In 1991 she received the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts and Letters along with six other Spanish singers.

1992 worked with Teresa Berganza in the opening ceremonies of the World's Fair in Seville and the Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona. It was recorded in 1994 as the first woman in the Spanish Royal Academy of Arts.

In 2010 she was a professor at the Department of singing at the Queen Sofia Music Academy in Madrid.