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Mariana Nicolesco

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Mariana Nicolesco
Born(1948-11-28)28 November 1948
Găujani, Giurgiu County, Romanian People's Republic
Died14 October 2022(2022-10-14) (aged 73)
Bucharest, Romania
Resting placeGhencea Cemetery, Bucharest
Education
OccupationOperatic soprano

Mariana Nicolesco (Romanian: [mariˈana nikoˈlesko] or pronounced [nikoˈlesku]; 28 November 1948 – 14 October 2022) was a Romanian operatic soprano who had an international career after she studied in Rome on a scholarship. She was a regular performer at La Scala in Milan where she performed Baroque opera such as Euridice in Rossi's Orfeo, Mozart roles such as Cinna in Lucio Silla in 1984, and contemporary including the world premiere of Luciano Berio's La Vera Storia in 1982.

Career

Born in Găujani, Giurgiu County, Nicolesco studied violin at the Music High School in Brașov, graduating playing Bruch's Violin Concerto.[1] She then turned to voice studies at the Music Conservatory in Cluj-Napoca, before winning a scholarship at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome to be taught canto by Jolanda Magnoni; she also worked with Rodolfo Celletti and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.[1][2] In 1972, she graduated and won the Voci Rossiniane competition in Milan, which launched an international career.[1] American conductor Thomas Schippers invited her to Cincinnati as Mimì in Puccini's La Bohème, and later she was invited by Luchino Visconti to appear in Verdi's Don Carlos at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.[3] She appeared at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino first as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, directed by Visconti and conducted by Thomas Schippers, a role she reprised over 200 times.[1]

Nicolesco made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1978 as Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, a role she performed there until 1986, followed by Verdi's Violetta and Gilda in Rigoletto.[4] She sang in the world's major opera houses such as Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where she had her debut in the world première of Luciano Berio's La Vera Storia in 1982.[5] Later roles there included Donna Anna in Dargomyzhsky's The Stone Guest in 1983, Cinna in Mozart's Lucio Silla in 1984, the soprano solo of Penderecki's Polish Requiem in 1985, Euridice in Rossi's Orfeo in 1985,[1] La Protagonista in Berio's Un re in ascolto in 1986, Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 1987, 1988 and 1993, Queen Climene in Jommelli's Fetonte in 1988,[1] Ravel's cantatas Alcyone and Alyssa in 1990, and three recitals in 1988 and 1993.[1][5]

She interpreted a wide repertoire from Baroque, belcanto, verismo and contemporary music,[1][6] and has been described as "an arresting personality with a vibrant voice";[2] highlights were the roles of Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio, Mozart's Elettra in Idomeneo and Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, the title roles of Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda, Donizetti's Anna Bolena, Maria di Rohan and Maria Stuarda, Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux, Verdi's Luisa in Luisa Miller, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Leonora in Il trovatore and Desdemona in Otello, Marguérite in Gounod's Faust, Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Liù in Puccini's Turandot, and Zarina Marina in Dvořák's Dimitrij.[7] She appeared in productions directed by Giorgio Strehler, Patrice Chéreau, Luca Ronconi, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Franco Zeffirelli, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Jonathan Miller and conducted by Colin Davis. Carlo Maria Giulini, Peter Maag, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Giuseppe Patané, Georges Prêtre, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Alberto Zedda.[1] She appeared in halls including Carnegie Hall in New York, Royal Festival Hall in London,[6] Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein in Vienna, Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Great Conservatory Hall in Moscow. She performed at festivals such as Salzburg Festival, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Martina Franca Festival, and the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico.[1] Invited by Pope John Paul II, she sang Romanian carols in the First Christmas Concert televised from the Vatican City in 1993, for a television audience of a billion people.[6] The soprano part of Penderecki's Symphony No. 7 "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" was composed for her, and she sang in the world premiere in 1997 in Jerusalem, when the city celebrated 3000 years.[6][8]

Nicolesco returned to Romania in 1991, after the fall of the Communist regime, singing for the first time on a stage in her native country, in a concert at the Romanian Atheneum in Bucharest. As some 10,000 tickets were purchased, Nicolesco gave three consecutive performances.[1] She created the Romanian Atheneum International Foundation and donated in 1994 a Steinway grand concert piano.[9] In 1995, Nicolesco initiated the Hariclea Darclée International Voice Competition and Festival. In the years between an edition of the Contest and the next, she offers Master Classes to the young artists.[6][10] She obtained for the Darclée events the High UNESCO Patronage.[11] In 2003, she created the Romanian National Festival and Song Competition. She presented for the International George Enescu Year, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2005, the composer's complete songs for the first time in Japan, at Aichi World Exhibition as well as in Nagoya and Tokyo, in Prague, Paris, Rome and New York City. In 2014 she was a member of the jury of the China International Vocal Competition with 430 competitors from 41 countries.[12]

Honours

Nicolesco was an honorary member of the Romanian Academy since 1993, Officer of the Order of the Arts and Letters in France from 2000,[1] and honorary doctor of the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca from 1996. She was awarded the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity in 2004[6][13] and the Order of the Star of Romania, in the Rank of Grand Cross in 2008.[14] She was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2005 and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.[6][15] She was elected the Most Successful Woman in Romania (2004)[16] and was conferred the Special Award Kulturpreis Europa Medal in Sibiu, European Capital of Culture in 2007.[6][17] She became an honorary member of the Mihai Eminescu International Academy in 2017, and honorary doctor of the Chisinau Academy of Arts in 2018.[18] She was elected, also in 2018, a member of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in Paris.[19] In 2018 she was awarded the Honorary Diploma and Medal The Centenary of the Great Union as well as the Honorary Diploma and Medal 650 years of documentary attestation of the city of Braila.[20] She was made an honorary citizen of Bucharest in 1991,[21] and of Cluj-Napoca in 1994.[22] She received in 2020 The Constantin Brâncoveanu Award for her entire career.[23]

Personal life and death

Nicolesco was married to art critic and art historian Radu Varia.[24] She died at a hospital in Bucharest on 14 October 2022; after lying in repose at the Romanian Athenaeum, she will be buried on 19 October in the city's Ghencea Cemetery.[25][26][27]

Recordings

Nicolesco made several live recordings, including the first recordings of cantatas by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Maurice Ravel:[1]

Year Title Role Cast Conductor
Orchestra 		Label
1976 Verdi: La Traviata Violetta Valéry Nicolesco,
Kraus,
Romero, et al. 		Thomas Schippers
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra 		Living Stage 2004
Historical Performances
1981 Meyerbeer: Gli amori di Teolinda (cantata) — Nicolesco Wolfgang Gönnenwein
Ludwigsburg Festival Orchestra 		Pro Arte
1983 Puccini: La Rondine Lisette Te Kanawa,
Domingo,
Nicolesco,
Nucci, et al. 		Lorin Maazel
London Symphony Orchestra 		CBS Records
1987 Bellini: Beatrice di Tenda[28] Beatrice di Tenda Nicolesco,
Toczyska,
Cappuccilli,
La Scola, et al. 		Alberto Zedda
Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra 		Rizzoli Records
Sony 1995, 2009
1987 Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro Marcellina Hynninen
Price,
Battle,
Nicolesco, et al. 		Riccardo Muti
Vienna Philharmonic 		EMI
1987 Ravel: Alyssa and Alcyone (cantatas) — Nicolesco,
Denize,
Meens,
Glashof 		Hubert Soudant
Bamberg Symphony 		Rizzoli Records
1988 Donizetti: Maria di Rohan Maria Nicolesco,
Morino,
Coni,
Franci, et al. 		Massimo de Bernart
Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia 		Nuova Era
reissued 1991
1990 Verdi: Simon Boccanegra Maria Boccanegra (Amelia Grimaldi) Bruson,
Nicolesco,
Sabbatini,
Scandiuzzi, et al. 		Roberto Paternostro
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra 		Capriccio
reissued 2005

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m (In Romanian) Mariana Nicolesco at the Romanian Academy site; accessed 16 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Oxford Music on line". Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  3. ^ (In Romanian) Magdalena Popa Buluc, "Mariana Nicolesco: 'Trăiesc într-un perpetuu foc de artificii'" ("Mariana Nicolesco: 'I Live in a Continuous Fireworks Display'"), Cotidianul, 25 July 2010; accessed 17 March 2012.
  4. ^ New York Metropolitan Opera Archives on line
  5. ^ a b [1] La Scala 2022
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mariana Nicolesco | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  7. ^ (In Romanian) Corina Stoica, "Mariana Nicolesco: Sunt prea spontană, prea directă ca să spun minciuni" (Mariana Nicolesco: I am too spontaneous, too direct, therefore incapable to lie), "Revista Tango", 15 September 2010
  8. ^ Mădălina Grosu, "Mariana Nicolesco, soprana de aur a României" ("Mariana Nicolesco, Romania's Golden Soprano", Adevărul, 27 July 2010; accessed 17 March 2012.
  9. ^ (In Romanian) Rodica Nicolae "Mariana Nicolesco: talent și dăruire de excepție pe altarul artei (Mariana Nicolesco: an exceptional talent and devotion on the altar of art), "Cariere", 20 May 2004.
  10. ^ (In Romanian) "O coroană pentru trei Regine: Hariclea Darclee, Maria Callas, Mariana Nicolesco" (A crown for three Queens: Hariclea Darclee, Maria Callas, Mariana Nicolesco), "Revista VIP", 27 August 2012.
  11. ^ (In Romanian) „Mariana Nicolesco a obţinut înaltul patronaj al UNESCO pentru evenimentele Darclée din România" (Mariana Nicolesco obtained for the Darclée events in Romania the High UNESCO Patronage) Mediafax, 9 July 2014.
  12. ^ (In Romanian) „Mariana Nicolesco, întâmpinată ca un star în China" (Mariana Nicolesco, received like a Star in China) Evenimentul Zilei, 28 November 2014.
  13. ^ Sito web del Quirinale: dettaglio decorato. Archived 10 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ (In Romanian) Comunicat de Presă (Press release) Presidency site, 1 December 2008.
  15. ^ Popa Buluc, Magdalena (2 July 2013). "Mariana Nicolesco, Ambasador Onorofic UNESCO, la Reuniunea de la Paris: Nimic nu-i poate apropia pe oameni mai mult decât cântul" [Romanian soprano Mariana Nicolesco, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador: Nothing can bring people closer than singing]. Cotidianul (in Romanian). Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  16. ^ "50 de românce cu succes și bani" [50 successful rich Romanian women]. Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). 31 March 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Mariana Nicolesco ausgezeichnet" (Mariana Nicolesco awarded) [2] Kultur Forum Europa site.
  18. ^ (In Romanian) "Soprana Mariana Nicolesco și istoricul de artă Radu Varia primesc titlul de Doctor Honoris Causa al Academiei de Arte din Chișinău" (Soprano Mariana Nicolesco and art historian Radu Varia received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of Chisinau's Academy of Arts) [3] Qmagazine, 4 June 2018.
  19. ^ Vlădescu, Iulian (26 November 2018). "Cultura românească în lume. Mariana Nicolesco și Radu Varia, Membri ai Academiei Europene de Științe, Arte și Litere din Paris" [The Romanian culture in the world. Mariana Nicolesco and Radu Varia Members of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in Paris]. Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian).
  20. ^ "Cauta | Obiectiv Vocea Brailei".
  21. ^ ″Mariana Nicolesco Cetatean de Onoare Bucuresti″ Archived 3 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ^ "Mariana Nicolesco Cetățean de Onoare Cluj-Napoca".
  23. ^ Gala premiilor Constantin Brâncoveanu, Fundația Alexandrion, Gala Premiilor Constantin Brâncoveanu 2020.
  24. ^ (In Romanian) Loredana Oprea, "Un ieșean, medaliat de Academia Regală din Scoția", Ziarul de Iași, 5 December 2011; accessed 14 March 2012.
  25. ^ Toma, Mihai (14 October 2022). "A murit Mariana Nicolesco. Marea soprană avea 73 de ani și era internată într-un spital din București". Libertatea (in Romanian). Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  26. ^ Paraschiv, Monica (14 October 2022). "Lumea muzicală și Brăila in doliu. Mariana Nicolesco s-a înălțat la ceruri". Obiectiv Vocea Brăilei (in Romanian). Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Ultim omagiu adus sopranei Mariana Nicolesco, miercuri, la Ateneul Român / Înmormântarea va avea loc la Cimitirul Ghencea". G4 Media (in Romanian). 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  28. ^ Bellini Beatrice di Tenda Gramophone June 1988.
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