Leyla Gencer

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The Leyla Gencer monument in front of the Ankara State Opera

Leyla Gencer (born Ceyrekgil, born October 10, 1928 in Istanbul , † May 9, 2008 in Milan ) was a Turkish opera singer ( soprano ), often La Diva Turca ("The Turkish Diva") and La Regina (" The Queen ") called. She was one of the most famous Donizetti interpreters of the 20th century.

Life

Gencer grew up as the daughter of a Polish mother and a Turkish father in the Istanbul district of Çubuklu on the Anatolian side of the Bosporus. They first completed vocal studies at the Conservatory of Ankara with Elvira de Hidalgo , who already singing teacher of Maria Callas was. In 1946 she married the banker Ibrahim Gencer. First she appeared as a choir singer at the Turkish State Theater , where she also made her operatic debut in 1950 in the role of Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana . After dropping out of the conservatory, she took private lessons with Giannina Arangi-Lombardi in Ankara . She received further lessons from Apollo Granforte .

In 1953 she made her debut, again in the role of Santuzza, in Italy at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. The following year she appeared there in Puccini's Madame Butterfly and in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin . In the course of her career, which developed mainly in Italy, she developed an extensive repertoire comprising more than 70 roles.

In 1957 she appeared in the world premiere of Francis Poulenc's Les Dialogues des Carmélites as Madame Lidoine at La Scala in Milan . Between 1957 and 1983 she sang a total of 19 roles at La Scala, including Leonora in La forza del destino , Elisabetta in Don Carlos , Lady Macbeth in Macbeth , the title role in Aida and Norma in Bellini's Norma in Verdi operas . the Ottavia in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and the title role in Alceste by Gluck. In the world premiere of Pizzetti's Assassinio nella cattedrale , she played the first luminary at La Scala in 1958.

In 1956, Gencer gave her first appearance in the USA as Francesca in Zandonais Francesca da Rimini at the San Francisco Opera , which was followed by other invitations to American houses in Dallas, Chicago, Newark and New York's Carnegie Hall , which she did (due to disagreements at first performance negotiations) never led to the Metropolitan Opera . Outside Italy, she was also at the Vienna State Opera (five performances between 1957 and 1962), the Bavarian State Opera , the Royal Opera House in London, the Glyndebourne and Edinburgh Festivals , the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Kirov Theater in Leningrad , at the operas of Stockholm , Oslo , Warsaw and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

During her stage career she also performed with the most important conductors of her time, such as B. Karajan , Muti , Serafin , Solti .

In 1985 she left the opera stage with Francesco Gnecco's La prova di un'opera seria at the Teatro La Fenice , but continued to give concerts until 1992. From 1983 to 1989 she was President of the Istanbul International Music Festival . She was also artistic director of the Associazione Lirica e Concertistica (As.Li.Co) from 1983 to 88 and directed the opera studio at La Scala in Milan during the 1997/98 season under the direction of Riccardo Muti.

Gencer was best known as a Donizetti interpreter, for example in Belisario , Poliuto , Anna Bolena , Lucrezia Borgia , Maria Stuarda and Caterina Cornaro . She had her most acclaimed appearance in 1964 in Roberto Devereux in Naples. It gained particular importance through its rediscovery of bel canto operas from the first half of the 19th century that had largely been forgotten . B. Smareglias La Falena , Rossini's Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra (Elisabeth, Queen of England), Spontinis Agnes von Hohenstaufen , Giovanni Pacini's Saffo and Gluck's Alceste . In addition to those already mentioned, her repertoire also included roles in works by Cilea , Mozart , Massenet , Ponchielli , Prokofiev , Weber and Weinberger .

Although Gencer has been largely ignored by the official record industry throughout her career, there are numerous recordings of her performances today that give at least a small idea of ​​her skills.

Since 1996 the “ Leyla Gencer Singing Competition ” has been held in her honor in Istanbul .

Gencer died of heart failure associated with lung disease. Her ashes were scattered in the Bosphorus according to her last wish .

Repertoire (selection)

Recordings (selection)

  • Gaetano Donizetti : Anna Bolena
    • Gianandrea Gavazzeni , 1958. Anna Bolena: Leyla Gencer - Giovanna Seymour: Giulietta Simionato - Enrico VIII: Plinio Clabassi - Lord Riccardo Percy: Aldo Bertocci - Smenton: Anna Maria Rota - Hervey: Mario Carlin - Rochefort: Silvio Majonica - RAI Symphony Orchestra Chorus
    • Gianandrea Gavazzeni, 1965. Anna Bolena: Leyla Gencer - Giovanna Seymour: Patricia Johnson - Enrico VIII: Carlo Cava - Lord Riccardo Percy: Juan Oncina - Smenton: Maureen Morelle - Hervey: Lloyd Strauss Smith - Rochefort: Don Garrard - Orchestra e Coro Glyndebourne Festival Opera
  • Francesco Gnecco : La prova di un'opera seria
    • John Fisher , 1983. Corilla: Leyla Gencer - Violante Pescarelli: Patrizia Dordi - Federico Mordente: Luigi Alva - Fischietto: Mario Bolognesi - Maestro Campanono: Francesco Signor - Poeta Pasticci: Giancarlo Luccardi - Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice

Awards (selection)

  • 1957 Puccini gold medal
  • 1958 silver medal at the Brussels World Exhibition
  • 1959 silver medal from the French Foreign Ministry
  • 1960 Harriet Cohen Prize London Gold Medal
  • 1960 honorary citizen of Dallas
  • 1961 Silver Medal for Artist of the Year of the Turkish Women's Association
  • 1967 “Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana”, awarded by the then President of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Saragat, presented by Senate President Amintore Fanfani
  • 1973 Appointment as Vice President of the Donizetti Society
  • 1975 Italian Record Critics Award for her album "Omaggio a Leyla Gencer"
  • 1988 Appointment as state artist by the Turkish President
  • 1990 Award of an honorary doctorate by the University of Istanbul
  • 2002 Puccini Honor Award from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation
  • 2004 Silver commemorative coin from the Turkish Mint
  • 2007 Premio Caruso

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gencer, Leyla
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ceyrekgil, Leyla (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkish opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Istanbul
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 2008
Place of death Milan