Teresa Zylis-Gara
Encyclopedia
Teresa Żylis-Gara is a Polish
opera
tic soprano
who had a major international career during the 1950s through the 1990s. Although chiefly known for her portrayals in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
, Giacomo Puccini
, and Giuseppe Verdi
, she sang a broad repertoire that encompassed a wide array of musical periods and languages. In addition to her work on the stage, she has been active as a concert singer and recitalist, and is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Brahms.
. In 1956 she made her professional opera debut with Opera Krakowska
as the eponymous
character in Moniuszko
's Halka
. She returned there the following year to portray the title role in a lauded production of Puccini
's Madama Butterfly
.
In 1958 Żylis-Gara won 2nd prize at the Concours of Toulouse and in 1960 she won 3rd prize at the International Music Contest in Munich
. The latter competition win led to her engagement at the opera house in Oberhausen
and from this moment on her career was largely centered in Germany for the next decade. She continued her voice training in Germany with studies under Dietger Jacob. She was offered a long term contract with the Dortmund Opera in 1962, singing there for the next three years. When the new Opernhaus Dortmund
was opened in 1966 she portrayed Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier
, along with Elisabeth Grümmer
as Marschallin and Kurt Böhme
as Ochs, the Dortmunder Philharmoniker
conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter
. In 1965 she joined the roster of principal singers at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein
in Düsseldorf
where she sang through 1970, and then later returned often as a guest artist. She also appeared as a freelance artist with the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt, the Hamburg State Opera
, the Oper der Stadt Köln, the Bavarian State Opera
, and the Vienna State Opera
during the 1960s and 1970s.
In the mid 1960s Żylis-Gara began to become a major presence on the international stage, beginning in 1965 with her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. She later returned to that festival in 1967 to sing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni
. In 1966 she performed for the first time at the Palais Garnier
in Paris which led to a contract with the Opéra National de Paris through 1969. The year 1968 proved to be a banner year for Żylis-Gara. She made her Royal Opera, London
debut as Violetta in La traviata
and sang Donna Elvira for her debuts at the Salzburg Festival
in the summer, the San Francisco Opera
on November 8 and her Metropolitan Opera
debut on December 17.
Rudolf Bing, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, was highly impressed with Żylis-Gara's debut performance and offered her a long term contract with the company beginning in January 1970 with the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute
. She remained on the Met roster for the next 14 seasons, portraying such roles as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro
, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly
, Desdemona in Otello
, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser
, Elsa in Lohengrin
, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
, Leonora in Il trovatore
, Liù in Turandot
, Marguerite in Faust
, Mimì in La bohème
, Octavian, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin
, Violetta, and the title roles in Adriana Lecouvreur
, Suor Angelica
, and Tosca
. Her final and 233rd performance at the Met was in the title role of Manon Lescaut
on March 31, 1984 with Vasile Moldoveanu as Des Grieux, Allan Monk
as Lescaut, and Nello Santi
conducting.
In 1970s Żylis-Gara continued to work as a freelance artist while the Met was her principal home. She was particularly active at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
and the Vienna State Opera. She sang annually at the Royal Opera, London from 1976-1980. She was also a soloist at La Scala
in Milan
, Teatr Wielki in Warsaw
, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires
, the Teatro Real
in Madrid
, the Lyric Opera of Chicago
, and the Bolshoi Theatre
in Moscow. She also performed in operas in Vienna
, Hamburg
, Amsterdam
, and Miami.
She was made a doctor honoris causa of Karol Lipiński University of Music
in 2003. She currently resides in Monaco
.
Recordings include the Polish songs by Frédéric Chopin
and songs by Karol Szymanowski
, the title role Manon
of Jules Massenet
(conductor Alberto Erede
), the part of the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos
by Strauss (conductor Rudolf Kempe
), Mosè by Gioachino Rossini, (conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch
), Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni
(conductor: Karl Böhm
), and Elisabeth in Don Carlo
by Verdi (conductor Thomas Schippers
). She recorded Mozart's Requiem
with Wolfgang Gönnenwein
. In 1966 she recorded Bach cantata
s with the Windsbach Boys Choir
, including Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, BWV 93
. She is heard in the 1968 Gönnenwein (EMI) recording of the St Matthew Passion. She was the soprano soloist in a 1969 recording of the St Matthew Passion with Peter Schreier
, Hermann Prey
, Margarita Lilova, Coro di Voci Bianche dell'Oratorio dell'Immacolata di Bergamo, Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Milano della RAI, conducted by Claudio Abbado
. A performance of Donizetti
's Anna Bolena
, broadcast from Cologne
by West German Radio in 1967, featured Żylis-Gara in the title role, Karl Ridderbusch
(Enrico), Vera Little (Giovanna), Gene Ferguson (Percy), Wolfgang Anheißer (Rochefort), Barbara Scherler
(Smeton) and Werner Hollweg (Hervey) under Alberto Erede
, and has been reissued on CD. In 1986 she recorded live Bach cantatas including Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199, at the inauguration of the Théâtre La Colonne in Miramas
, conducted by Dominique Debart.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who had a major international career during the 1950s through the 1990s. Although chiefly known for her portrayals in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
, and Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, she sang a broad repertoire that encompassed a wide array of musical periods and languages. In addition to her work on the stage, she has been active as a concert singer and recitalist, and is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Brahms.
Biography
Żylis-Gara studied for nine years at the Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Muzyczna in Łódź under Olga Ogina. In 1954 she won first prize at the Polish Young Vocalists Contest in Warsaw which led to engagements to sing on the Polish National Radio and to perform as a soloist with the Kraków PhilharmonicKraków Philharmonic
The Kraków Philharmonic or the Cracow Philharmonic , is the primary concert hall in Kraków, Poland, named after the renown Polish composer and pianist Karol Szymanowski. It is the home of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra....
. In 1956 she made her professional opera debut with Opera Krakowska
Opera Krakowska
The Opera Krakowska , located at Lubicz 48 Street in Kraków, Poland, was founded in 1954. The company stages 200 performances each year, including ballet, operettas and musicals for the young, with an audience occupancy rate of 98%...
as the eponymous
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
character in Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
's Halka
Halka
Halka is an opera by the Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko. The libretto was by Wlodzimierz Wolski , a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas.-Performance history:...
. She returned there the following year to portray the title role in a lauded production of Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
.
In 1958 Żylis-Gara won 2nd prize at the Concours of Toulouse and in 1960 she won 3rd prize at the International Music Contest in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. The latter competition win led to her engagement at the opera house in Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
and from this moment on her career was largely centered in Germany for the next decade. She continued her voice training in Germany with studies under Dietger Jacob. She was offered a long term contract with the Dortmund Opera in 1962, singing there for the next three years. When the new Opernhaus Dortmund
Opernhaus Dortmund
Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, opened in 1966 and formally operated by the Theater Dortmund.-Architecture:...
was opened in 1966 she portrayed Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
, along with Elisabeth Grümmer
Elisabeth Grümmer
Elisabeth Schilz Grümmer was a German operatic lyric soprano.She was born at Niederjeutz, near Diedenhofen, Alsace-Lorraine to German parents...
as Marschallin and Kurt Böhme
Kurt Böhme
Kurt Böhme was a German bass.He was born in Dresden, Germany, where he studied with Adolf Kluge at the Dresden Conservatory. He made his debut in 1930 in Bautzen as Kaspar, one of his most important roles further on...
as Ochs, the Dortmunder Philharmoniker
Dortmunder Philharmoniker
The Dortmunder Philharmoniker are a German symphony orchestra based in Dortmund. The orchestra of the Theater Dortmund performs both opera in the Opernhaus Dortmund and concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund...
conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter
Wilhelm Schüchter
Wilhelm Schüchter was a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor in Dortmund and left a legacy of opera recordings.-Professional career:...
. In 1965 she joined the roster of principal singers at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company....
in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
where she sang through 1970, and then later returned often as a guest artist. She also appeared as a freelance artist with the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt, the Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile...
, the Oper der Stadt Köln, the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
, and the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
during the 1960s and 1970s.
In the mid 1960s Żylis-Gara began to become a major presence on the international stage, beginning in 1965 with her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. She later returned to that festival in 1967 to sing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. In 1966 she performed for the first time at the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
in Paris which led to a contract with the Opéra National de Paris through 1969. The year 1968 proved to be a banner year for Żylis-Gara. She made her Royal Opera, London
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
debut as Violetta in La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
and sang Donna Elvira for her debuts at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
in the summer, the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
on November 8 and her Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
debut on December 17.
Rudolf Bing, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, was highly impressed with Żylis-Gara's debut performance and offered her a long term contract with the company beginning in January 1970 with the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
. She remained on the Met roster for the next 14 seasons, portraying such roles as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, Desdemona in Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, Elsa in Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, Leonora in Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
, Liù in Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, Marguerite in Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, Mimì in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Octavian, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, Violetta, and the title roles in Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
, Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an original Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is the second opera of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
, and Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
. Her final and 233rd performance at the Met was in the title role of Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
on March 31, 1984 with Vasile Moldoveanu as Des Grieux, Allan Monk
Allan Monk
Allan James Monk, OC is a Canadian baritone singer. He appeared in the 1982 film adaptation of La Traviata....
as Lescaut, and Nello Santi
Nello Santi
Nello Santi is an Italian conductor. He is often called "Papa Santi" by his fellow musicians to show their high respect for his work.-Biography:...
conducting.
In 1970s Żylis-Gara continued to work as a freelance artist while the Met was her principal home. She was particularly active at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
and the Vienna State Opera. She sang annually at the Royal Opera, London from 1976-1980. She was also a soloist at 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...
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 ,...
, Teatr Wielki in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, the Teatro Real
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real or simply El Real , is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.-History:...
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, and the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
in Moscow. She also performed in operas in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, and Miami.
She was made a doctor honoris causa of Karol Lipiński University of Music
Karol Lipinski University of Music
Karol Lipiński University of Music is a university level school of music in Wrocław, Poland.-Departments:*Department of Composition, Conducting, Theory of Music and Music Therapy...
in 2003. She currently resides in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
.
Recordings
The art of Teresa Żylis-Gara is recorded in opera, concert and Lied: Entries to Teresa Żylis-Gara in WorldCat.Recordings include the Polish songs by Frédéric Chopin
Polish songs by Frédéric Chopin
Although Frédéric Chopin is best known for his works for piano solo, among his output are a number of songs for voice and piano, set to Polish texts.-Background:...
and songs by Karol Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
, the title role Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
of Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
(conductor Alberto Erede
Alberto Erede
Alberto Erede was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with operatic work.Born in Genoa, Erede studied there before studying in Milan, then with Felix Weingartner at Basle, and after this with Fritz Busch at Dresden. He made his debut in Turin in 1935, conducting Der Ring des Nibelungen....
), the part of the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
by Strauss (conductor Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929...
), Mosè by Gioachino Rossini, (conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
), Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(conductor: Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
), and Elisabeth in Don Carlo
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
by Verdi (conductor Thomas Schippers
Thomas Schippers
Thomas Schippers was an American conductor. He was highly-regarded for his work in opera.-Biography:...
). She recorded Mozart's Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
with Wolfgang Gönnenwein
Wolfgang Gönnenwein
Wolfgang Gönnenwein is a German conductor and an academic.- Biography :Wolfgang Gönnenwein studied music and German studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Tübingen...
. In 1966 she recorded Bach cantata
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
s with the Windsbach Boys Choir
Windsbach Boys Choir
The Windsbach Boys Choir is a German choir of boys and young men in Windsbach, Germany.-History:Founded in 1946 by Hans Thamm und since 1978 under the direction of Karl-Friedrich Beringer, the choir is one of the most renowned boys choirs of the world...
, including Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, BWV 93
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, BWV 93
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten , BWV 93, is a cantata of Johann Sebastian Bach, written in Leipzig for the fifth Sunday after Trinity, first performed on 9 July 1724.-History:...
. She is heard in the 1968 Gönnenwein (EMI) recording of the St Matthew Passion. She was the soprano soloist in a 1969 recording of the St Matthew Passion with Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
, Hermann Prey
Hermann Prey
Hermann Prey was a German lyric baritone. He is most famous for lieder and for light comic baritone roles in opera.-Biography:...
, Margarita Lilova, Coro di Voci Bianche dell'Oratorio dell'Immacolata di Bergamo, Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Milano della RAI, conducted by Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
. A performance of Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena, both telling of the life of Anne Boleyn...
, broadcast from Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
by West German Radio in 1967, featured Żylis-Gara in the title role, Karl Ridderbusch
Karl Ridderbusch
Karl Ridderbusch was a German operatic bass, associated in particular with the music of Wagner. He was recognised as a notable exponent of the role of Hans Sachs.-Background and early career:...
(Enrico), Vera Little (Giovanna), Gene Ferguson (Percy), Wolfgang Anheißer (Rochefort), Barbara Scherler
Barbara Scherler
Barbara Scherler is a German classical mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and active in performances and recordings of operas of the 20th century....
(Smeton) and Werner Hollweg (Hervey) under Alberto Erede
Alberto Erede
Alberto Erede was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with operatic work.Born in Genoa, Erede studied there before studying in Milan, then with Felix Weingartner at Basle, and after this with Fritz Busch at Dresden. He made his debut in Turin in 1935, conducting Der Ring des Nibelungen....
, and has been reissued on CD. In 1986 she recorded live Bach cantatas including Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199, at the inauguration of the Théâtre La Colonne in Miramas
Miramas
Miramas is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. It is the second-largest commune in metropolitan Ouest-Provence and is located at the north end of the Étang de Berre lagoon, adjacent to and northeast of the city of Istres.-Circuit...
, conducted by Dominique Debart.
External links
- Teresa Żylis-Gara (Soprano) on bach-cantatas