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Agnes Baltsa

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Greek mezzo-soprano singer
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Agnes Baltsa
BornNovember 19, 1944
NationalityGreek
Alma materGreek National Conservatoire
OccupationOpera Singer

Agni Baltsa (Greek: Aγνή Mπάλτσα; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.

Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of seven, before moving to Athens in 1958 to concentrate on singing. She graduated from the Greek National Conservatoire in 1965 and then travelled to Munich to continue studying on a Maria Callas scholarship.

Baltsa made her first appearance in an opera in 1968 as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro at Frankfurt Opera, before going on to appear as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera in 1970. Under the guidance of Herbert von Karajan, she became a regular at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. She became Kammersängerin of the Vienna State Opera in 1980.

Her best-known performance is that of Carmen by Georges Bizet, which she has sung a number of times with noted tenors such as José Carreras, Neil Shicoff, and others. She has also sung works by Mozart (notably Così fan tutte), Rossini (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Semiramide, L'italiana in Algeri), Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana), Saint-Saëns (Samson et Dalila), Verdi (Aida, La forza del destino, Il trovatore, Don Carlos), Bellini (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Offenbach (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and Donizetti (Il Campanello, Maria Stuarda).

She starred in the Austrian film Duett in 1992, playing an opera singer.

In 2017, she sang Klytemnestra in Richard Strauss's Elektra at the Greek National Opera's new premises at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

Awards, Honors, and Memberships

  • 1980: Kammersängerin (Austria)
  • 1988: Honorary member (Vienna State Opera)
  • 1993: Members (European Academy of Arts and Sciences)
  • Prix du Prestige Lyrique
  • Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
  • Gold Medal of the City of Vienna
  • Gold Medal of the City of Athens
  • Wilhelm-Furtwängler Award

Discography

Operas

Year of release Album details Contributing artists Label
1976 Mozart: Ascanio in Alba Lilian Sukis, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Arleen Augér, Salzburger Kammerchor, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold Hager DG
1977 Mozart: Mitridate Arleen Augér, Ileana Cotrubaș, Edita Gruberová, Christine Weidinger, Werner Hollweg, David Kübler, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold Hager DG
1978 Strauss: Salome Hildegard Behrens, Karl-Walter Böhm, José van Dam, Wiesław Ochman, Heljä Angervo, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan EMI
1979 Verdi: Don Carlos Nicolai Ghiaurov, José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, Mirella Freni, Edita Gruberová, Barbara Hendricks, Chor der Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan EMI
1980 Verdi: Aida Mirella Freni, José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, Katia Ricciarelli, Thomas Moser, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan EMI
1981 Massenet: Thérèse Francisco Araiza, George Fortune, Giancarlo Luccardi, Gino Sinimberghi, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI, Gerd Albrecht Atlantis
1981 Ponchielli: La Gioconda Montserrat Caballé, Alfreda Hodgson, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sherrill Milnes, London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Bartoletti Decca
1982 Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice Margaret Marshall, Edita Gruberová, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti EMI
1982 Donizetti: Il Campanello Enzo Dara, Carlo Gaifa, Biancamaria Casoni, Angelo Romero, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Symphoniker, Gary Bertini CBS
1983 Bizet: Carmen José Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, José van Dam, Chœurs de l'Opéra de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Deutsche Grammophon
1983 Verdi: Rigoletto Thomas Allen, Luciana Serra, José Carreras, Evgeny Nesterenko, José van Dam, Coro del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Deutsche Grammophon
1988 Rossini: La Cenerentola Francisco Araiza, Ruggero Raimondi, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner Decca

References

  1. Koutsoukis, Angelos (September 5, 2023). "When Agni Baltsa sang Stavros Xarchakos".
  2. ^ "Μπάλτσα Αγνή - Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή". virtualmuseum.nationalopera.gr. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  3. Milnes, Rodney (26 September 1984). "Athens Festival - New look for familiar favourites". Financial Times. p. 12.
  4. Clements, Andrew (20 May 1985). "Review of Samson Et Dalila at Covent Garden". Financial Times. p. 17.
  5. Κιουσόπουλος, Δημήτρης (2017-10-23). "Ο θρίαμβος της Ηλέκτρας". Andro (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. "Συντελεστές". www.tch.gr. Retrieved 2024-04-18.

External links

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