An opera legend has passed away. Spanish mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza, who performed in the world’s greatest concert halls since the early 1950s, died on Friday at the age of 89, the Spanish Ministry of Culture announced.
“We are very sad to learn of the disappearance of Teresa Berganza,” the ministry tweeted while the Prime Minister hailed “one of the greatest female voices in the world”. “His voice, his elegance, his art will accompany us forever,” continued Pedro Sanchez.
“I don’t want a public announcement or a wake, nothing. I came into the world without anyone knowing it, I wish it would be the same when I leave, ”she wrote in a posthumous message broadcast by her family in the Spanish media.
Legendary Carmen
The Madrid singer specialized in the repertoires of Rossini and Mozart, as well as the incarnation of the character of Carmen in Bizet’s opera. His performance under the direction of Helmut von Karajan is a benchmark.
She made her debut in 1957 at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, in the role of Dorabella in “Così fan tutte”, by Mozart. The following year, the opera singer went to the United States, to Dallas, alongside Maria Callas, in “Médée” by Cherubini.
She then sang in the most famous venues in the world, from Vienna to Milan via Paris, London, New York or Chicago. She was the first woman admitted to the Royal Academy of Arts of Spain and is also an honorary doctor of the University of Complutense in Madrid. And she had received in 2005 the insignia of Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honor in France.