Cathy Berberian
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Cathy Berberian (born July 4, 1925 in Attleboro , Massachusetts , † March 6, 1983 in Rome ) was an American singer ( mezzo-soprano ) and avant-garde composer . She is considered one of the most versatile singers in history.
Life
Berberian was the daughter of Armenian immigrants.
She studied dance (Indian dances and flamenco ), acting, pantomime , literature and costume design at Columbia University and New York University . From 1949 onwards, thanks to a Fulbright scholarship , she studied singing in Paris with Marya Freund (1876–1966) and at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan . She made her debut as a concert singer in 1957. In 1959 she first attracted public attention when she sang John Cage's Aria for Mezzosoprano with Fontana Mix in Rome , which he had written for her voice.
She married the composer Luciano Berio in 1950 , who composed many pieces for her, including Circles , sequence III , Visage and Récital . The marriage, which ended in 1964, had a daughter, the jazz drummer Cristina Berio (born November 1, 1953).
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Berberian was an amazingly versatile singer with a wide repertoire. Her voice spanned three octaves .
She sang mainly contemporary pieces by Igor Stravinsky , Darius Milhaud , Hans Werner Henze , Luigi Nono , John Cage , Bruno Maderna , Henri Pousseur , Sylvano Bussotti and Luciano Berio . With the help of her acting and comedic talents, she brought modern music closer to the audience. Stravinsky wrote the Elegy for Kennedy for its vocal possibilities.
In addition to her commitment to new music, her interpretations of early baroque music a. a. known from Claudio Monteverdi . With the conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt , a pioneer of historical performance practice, she recorded two Monteverdi operas and some madrigals (including the famous Lamento d'Arianna) for the record.
Her repertoire also included many works outside of serious music ; she often sang Armenian folk songs, successfully toured with salon songs and even made a record of Beatles songs.
Berberian's own compositions were avant-garde, witty attempts to redefine music. For example, she composed the piece Stripsody (1966) for herself , which consists only of drawings and speech bubbles from comics. The piano piece Morsicat (h) y followed in 1971 and Awake and Read Joyce in 1972 .
literature
- Marie-Christine Vila: Cathy Berberian cant'actrice . Fayard, Paris 2003 ISBN 2-213-61702-3
- Jennifer Paull: Cathy Berberian And Music's Muses . Amoris Imprint, Vouvry 2007 ISBN 978-1-84753-889-5
- Alain Paris: Lexicon of Classical Music Performers in the 20th Century . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1992 ISBN 3-7618-3291-5
- Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singer lexicon . Third edition, Berlin 2000 ISBN 3-89853-133-3 pp. 1798ff
Web links
- CathyBerberian.com
- telescopic: beatles arias
- Classical music daily - Music and Vision (Full contents): A musical enchantress , A musical Columbus , Never knowingly misunderstood , Leg (C) ac (TH) y
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Berberian, Cathy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer (mezzo-soprano) and avant-garde composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th July 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Attleboro , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 6, 1983 |
| Place of death | Rome |