Marta Perez
Encyclopedia
Marta Perez was a Cuban mezzo-soprano
and the first Cuban to sing in Milan
’s famed La Scala
opera house.
Miss Perez' artistic talents were recognized early in life and as a little girl she studied singing with Marila Granowska. By the age of 13, she was performing as a soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Havana. In the 1940s she began a series of tours with Ernesto Lecuona
. Perez was the first to record Gonzalo Roig
’s zarzuela
, "Cecilia Valdes
". She sang at the renowned opera house La Scala in Milan, Italy in 1955, in the role of Preciosilla in Verdi’s opera La Forza del Destino
, sharing the stage with Renata Tebaldi
and Giuseppe di Stefano
. In 1961, she performed on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In the 1960s she went into exile in Miami. In 1967, she co-founded the "Pro Arte Grateli Society", a Hispanic theater group. She never married or had children.
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
and the first Cuban to sing in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
’s famed La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
opera house.
Miss Perez' artistic talents were recognized early in life and as a little girl she studied singing with Marila Granowska. By the age of 13, she was performing as a soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Havana. In the 1940s she began a series of tours with Ernesto Lecuona
Ernesto Lecuona
Ernesto Lecuona y Casado was a Cuban composer and pianist of Canarian father and Cuban mother, and worldwide fame. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional quality....
. Perez was the first to record Gonzalo Roig
Gonzalo Roig
Gonzalo Roig was a Cuban musician, composer, musical director and founder of several orchestras. He was a pioneer of the symphonic movement in Cuba....
’s zarzuela
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
, "Cecilia Valdes
Cecilia Valdés
Cecilia Valdés is both a novel by the Cuban Cirilo Villaverde , and a zarzuela based on the novel. It is a work of importance for its quality, and its revelation of the interaction of classes and races in Cuba.- The novel :...
". She sang at the renowned opera house La Scala in Milan, Italy in 1955, in the role of Preciosilla in Verdi’s opera La Forza del Destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
, sharing the stage with Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
and Giuseppe di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the late 1940s until the early 1990s. He was known as the "Golden voice" or "The most beautiful voice", as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli...
. In 1961, she performed on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In the 1960s she went into exile in Miami. In 1967, she co-founded the "Pro Arte Grateli Society", a Hispanic theater group. She never married or had children.