Che faro senza Euridice

Ruža Pospiš-Baldani - Croatian mezzo-soprano
Born: July 25, 1942 - Varaždinske Toplice, Croatia
After having completed her education in Varaždin and the Academy of Music in Zagreb in the class of Marija Borčić, at the age of nineteen she had her debut in the Zagreb National Croatian Theatre. From that position, only two years later, she soared into world operatic stages, achieving soon the status of one of the world’s most claimed mezzo-sopranos. In 1965 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as Maddalena in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. The unique voice, immeasurable musicality and exceptional scenic appearance led her to Salzburg Festival and Salzburg Easter Festival, the Bavarian State Opera, the Opera in Madrid, before the Pope Paulus VI in the Vatican and the Vienna State Opera. In the New York Metropolitan she appeared more than seventy times and she also appeared in the Carnegie Hall, Chicago and Barcelona, Already in the year 1970, in the role Carmen in the Metropolitan she captivated the world and became definitely the most claimed Carmen of that time, particularly five years later when the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Bizet’s opera was marked by singing this role from Covent Garden to Madrid. She was the favorite of Herbert von Karajan, cooperated with the great conductors like Karl Richter, Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein and Lovro von Matačić. Furthermore, she appeared in great operatic appearances and in interpretations of great vocal-instrumental works of J. S. Bach, L. van Beethoven, G. Verdi, G. F. Händel and others. Equally, her world successes are also prominent as well as her famed partners: Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Renata Tebaldi and Luciano Pavarotti, and so are her numerous recordings.
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Croatian classical music and musicians