Ileana Cotrubaș

Ileana Cotrubaș
OSR
Cotrubaș with Plácido Domingo in La bohème, Liceu, 1981/82
Born(1939-06-09)9 June 1939
Galați, Covurlui County, Kingdom of Romania
Died20 August 2026(2026-08-20) (aged 87)
Vienna, Austria
EducationCiprian Porumbescu Conservatory, Bucharest
OccupationOperatic soprano
Years active1964–1990
OrganizationsVienna State Opera
TitleKammersängerin
Spouse
Manfred Ramin
​
(m. 1972)​
Signature

Ileana Cotrubaș (Romanian: [iˈle̯ana kotruˈbaʃ] ⓘ; 9 June 1939 – 20 August 2026) was a Romanian operatic soprano. After winning the 1966 ARD International Music Competition in Munich, she made an international career at the major opera houses, a member of the Vienna State Opera from 1970. She made an international breakthrough on 7 January 1975, stepping in for Mirella Freni at La Scala in Milan as Mimì in Puccini's La bohème. Regarded by many as the best Mimi and Traviata of her time, she retired from public singing in 1990. She gave master classes from the late 1970s, and in retirement focused on coaching promising young singers.

Cotrubaș was critical of the dominance of directors in opera, sometimes walking out of productions. She published a 1998 autobiography entitled Opernwahrheiten (Opera truths), and, together with her husband, in 2017, Die manipulierte Oper (The manipulated opera).

Her voice was described as light and bright with a fragile timbre;[1] Mozart roles formed a core of her repertoire. Vivien Schweitzer wrote in her New York Times obituary that Cotrubaș was able to convey the pathos of operatic heroines with her tender, pure, expressive tone.[2] The Vienna State Opera, her artistic home, remembered that she did not seek "outward, polished perfection",[3] but truth in both singing and acting, and that she was able, by nuanced coloring of her voice, to give individual phrases character and an "audible and palpable passion".[3]

Life and career

Cotrubaș was born in Galați on 9 June 1939.[1][4][5] Her father worked as a civil servant in the ministry of agriculture.[6] He was also a tenor in an amateur choir.[7] Cotrubaș became a member of a children's radio choir at age nine,[1][6] where she participated in operas such as Puccini's La bohème and Tosca, Bizet's Carmen[4] and Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.[6] In 1952, the family moved to Bucharest where she attended the Școala Specială de Muzică – a school for the musically gifted.[8] At the Bucharest Conservatory, she studied for five years,[6] with classes also in piano, violin, accordion and choral conducting,[9] and voice, especially with Constantin Stroescu[6][10] and Emanuel Elenescu.[4][10]

Early career

Cotrubaș made her stage debut with the Bucharest Opera as the boy Yniold in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande in 1964[4][11] during her studies.[1] She subsequently expanded her repertory to include first trouser roles such as Siebel in Gounod's Faust, Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, and Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, then also Blonde in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto.[10]

In 1964 Cotrubaș was awarded the Enescu Prize in Bucharest. In 1965 she won first prize in opera, lieder, and oratorio at the International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.[4] The following year, she won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.[1][9] She then continued her studies in Vienna and was in 1967 successful at La Monnaie in Brussels in Mozart roles, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. She performed at the Salzburg Festival as the Second Boy in Die Zauberflöte that year[4] in a new production directed by Oscar Fritz Schuh and conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch.[12] The prizes and successes led to appearances in the Hamburg State Opera and the Berlin State Opera.[1] Cotrubaș became a member of the ensemble of the Oper Frankfurt in 1968,[9][4][1] engaged by Christoph von Dohnányi. One of her roles there was Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande.[13]

In 1969 Cotrubaș first performed in the United Kingdom at the Glyndebourne Festival again as Mélisande,[1] alongside Peter-Christoph Runge and Jacques Mars, and conducted by John Pritchard who had seen her in Frankfurt and wanted her for Glyndebourne. It won her international recognition. She portrayed there in the two following seasons the title role of Cavalli's La Calisto.[14]

Vienna State Opera

Cotrubaș made her debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1969 as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte.[4][1] Cotrubaș signed a three-year contract with the Vienna State Opera in 1970. During her time there, she learned the Mozart roles of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Violetta, the title role in Verdi's La traviata, Mimì in La bohème, Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.[4][9] Her roles in Vienna included also Pamina, Gilda, Micaëla in Carmen, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Amelia in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and Charlotte in Massenet's Werther.[3][15]

International appearances

Cotrubaș made her début at the Royal Opera House in London in 1971 as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.[16][17] She performed there regularly, in roles including Susanna, Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Traviata, Mélisande, Pamina, Mimi, Adina in L'elisir d'amore, Antonia in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Amina in Bellini's La sonnambula, and later Verdi roles, Elisabetta in Don Carlo and Alice Ford in Falstaff.[17]

In 1973, she first performed in the United States, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Mimì,[16] and returned to perform as Norina in Don Pasquale, Euridice in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, Traviata and Gilda.[4] At Glyndebourne she appeared in 1973 as Susanna alongside the Figaro of Knut Skram, directed by Peter Hall and conducted by Pritchard.[14] At the Paris Opera she portrayed Massenet's Manon in 1974.[4]

Cotrubaș's international breakthrough came on 7 January 1975, when she replaced Mirella Freni at La Scala in Milan as Mimì,[9] at the suggestion of Luciano Pavarotti.[6][18] She had to fly from her home in Kent and arrived 15 minutes before curtain time. Her interpretation, "intimate, tender and vocally refined",[9] was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.[6] The following year, she portrayed the title role of La traviata at the Bavarian State Opera, alongside Plácido Domingo as Rodolfo and conducted by Carlos Kleiber.[9][11] She was impressed by working with Kleiber who made her go to her limits.[9][11]

Cotrubaș made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera (Met) on 23 March 1977, as Mimì[4] in a production with José Carreras and Renata Scotto.[19] While with the Met, she appeared as Gilda, alongside Domingo and Cornell MacNeil, in a televised performance of Rigoletto on 7 November 1977.[20] She portrayed Traviata again, with Domingo and MacNeil, in a televised performance of La traviata on 28 March 1981.[20] Donal Henahan from the New York Times named the production a "pure triumph" and detailed: "From the first puzzled and tentative notes of 'e strano' straight through to the almost delirious brilliance of 'sempre libera' she drew one long, unerring curve of vocal and dramatic excitement."[21] She sang three other roles at the Met: Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo (in its Metropolitan Opera premiere), Tatyana, and Micaëla, the role of her final performance with the company on 26 March 1987.[16][20]

Cotrubaș appeared as Mimì at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid in 1980. She performed at the Liceu in Barcelona as Mimì in 1982, as Susanna in 1984, as Nedda in 1987 and as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello in 1988.[11]

In 1981 she appeared at Glyndebourne as Tytania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1981, conducted by Bernard Haitink and again staged by Peter Hall.[14] She performed as Ninetta in Rossini's La gazza ladra at the Cologne Opera in 1984. In more Verdi roles, she appeared as at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra in 1986, at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo as Alice Ford in Falstaff, and as Desdemona at the Liceu in 1988. In 1989 she portrayed Mélisande at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.[4]

Criticism of Regietheater

Cotrubaș was known for being very demanding not only of herself but also of directors and colleagues.[18] While she praised directors such as Peter Hall, with whom she often worked in England, Otto Schenk, Günther Rennert,[6] Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, and Giorgio Strehler,[22] she was critical of any stage director who "doesn't love music and doesn't trust it",[6] admitting that she was conservative.[6] Demanding artistic independence,[9] she walked out of productions twice when she was not able to accept the stage director's view, first in Eugene Onegin in Vienna in 1973[6][9] and again in 1980 for Don Pasquale at the Met.[9][23] The following year she left a production of La traviata by John Dexter, returning when Colin Graham became its director.[11][21] In 1987 she used the curtain call after the first act of La traviata[11] for an apology for appearing in a production she thought was unacceptable.[9]

In retirement, she published a 1998 autobiography entitled Opernwahrheiten (Opera truths), in German with the help of her German husband.[11] It revealed her criticism of the opera business, especially of Regietheater.[1][4][22] She wrote about directors who absolutely wanted to create something innovative but ignored the score, conductors who went along with them but avoided looking at the stage, and ignorant politicians who supported the development.[11][22] She expressed her fear that young people had no chance to get to know operas, but only directors' interpretation of them.[22]

Together with her husband, Manfred Ramin, she published a polemic book in 2017, Die manipulierte Oper (The manipulated opera).[18] They wrote about Regietheater in a wider context than in her first book, addressing opera managers, journalists and cultural politicians, using many examples of directors' ideas they found laughable and distorting the operas.[24]

Concert and recital

Cotrubaș sang the first soprano in Mozart's Great Mass in C minor at the Salzburg Festival in 1968, conducted by Bernhard Paumgartner.[25] She performed in vocal symphonic works such as Mozart's Requiem and Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust.[11] She sang and recorded Bach cantatas, Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten, Ein deutsches Requiem by Brahms, and solos in Mahler's Second and Eighths Symphonies.[10]

Cotrubaș was a master of singing art songs. For her first recital at Carnegie Hall in New York City on 7 December 1977, with pianist Martin Isepp, she selected lieder by Schubert and Brahms, mélodies by Fauré and songs by Britten.[26] She gave a recital at the Salzburg Festival with pianist Erik Werba on 14 August 1978 with a similar program.[27] Cotrubaș sang and recorded Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch. She gave recitals in the Musikverein in Vienna, in Paris, Munich and Zürich, among others.[10]

Teaching

Cotrubaș began giving master classes in the United States in the late 1970s and then took them to other countries. After retiring from the stage, she focused on teaching and coaching young singers,[10] including Elena Tsallagova.[28] In Spain, she taught at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid in 1999, at San Sebastián in 2003 and at the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid in 2013.[11]

Cotrubaș told her students that they had to present a character with the first note, which meant that they had to understand the work, the character's position in it and its language, to be able to define the character in posture, movement and voice.[18] She coached the Uruguayan soprano María José Siri for a day in 2002, after she had failed the first round of a competition in Andorra, and later gave her lessons in her home for years, transforming her technique and making her find her own voice.[11] The French mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez remembered:

She was a woman of rare intensity. Her words could be scathing, her judgement relentless and her demands formidable. She demanded truth, commitment and absolute honesty; demands that are not always easy to meet, but which are perhaps indispensable for anyone who wishes to become more than just a performer. She taught me – sometimes with a firmness that left no room for hiding – to forge the armour necessary for this demanding profession, whilst never allowing that armour to harden the very essence of an artist. For behind that impressive strength lay a deeply endearing heart and immense sensitivity. She knew that a voice is not merely a medium to be shaped: it must be lived. She nurtured the imagination, poetry, vulnerability and that boundless inner world from which true song is born.[11]

Personal life

From 1972,[2] Cotrubaș was married to Manfred Ramin, a conductor and critic from Berlin.[6] They first lived in Sevenoaks in Kent. The couple had no children, arguing that their travelling lifestyle would not have provided children the stability in family and education they need.[6] Later they lived in Vienna.[29]

Cotrubaș died in Vienna on 20 August 2026, at the age of 87.[2][7][18] A black flag was flown by the Vienna State Opera as a sign of mourning.[3]

Awards

Recordings

Bibliography

  • Ileana Cotrubaș: Opernwahrheiten, Vienna: Holzhausen Verlag, 1998. ISBN 978-3-85493-005-1[22]
  • Ileana Cotrubas, Manfred Ramin: Die manipulierte Oper, Vienna: Verlag Der Apfel, 2017. ISBN 978-3-85450-118-3[24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Malisch, Kurt (2016). "Ileana Cotrubaș". MGG (in German). Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Schweitzer, Vivien (20 August 2026). "Ileana Cotrubas, Sensitive Soprano Known for 'Traviata,' Dies at 87". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About the Death of KS Ileana Cotrubaș". Vienna State Opera. 20 August 2026. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Kutsch, K.-J.; Riemens, Leo (2012). "Cotrubaș, Ileana". Großes Sängerlexikon (in German) (4th ed.). De Gruyter. pp. 927–928. ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5.
  5. ↑ Rosenthal, H.; Warrack, J., eds. (1979). "Cotrubaș, Ileana". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 101–111. ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Movshon, George (10 April 1977). "Cotrubas — A Mimi to Make The Heart Beat Faster". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 Bălălău, Anca (20 August 2026). "Încă o mare voce în corul îngerilor-soprana Ileana Cotrubaș!". Radio România Reșița (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 20 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Iana, Ciprian (20 August 2026). "A salvat un spectacol la La Scala în ultimul moment și a devenit o legendă mondială. A murit soprana Ileana Cotrubaș". Libertatea (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 20 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Täuschel, Annika (20 August 2026). "Zum Tod der Sopranistin Ileana Cotrubaș: Charakterstark und charismatisch". BR-KLASSIK (in German). Archived from the original on 20 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ileana Cotrubas". Samling. 2026. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pontiggia, Matio (24 August 2026). "Obituario. Ileana Cotrubaș. Und in dem 'Wie' da liegt der ganze Unterschied…". Platea (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Die Zauberflöte". Salzburg Festival. 30 August 1976. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  13. ↑ Fischer, Jens Malte. Große Stimmen: Von Enrico Caruso bis Jessye Norman (in German) (1st ed.). Suhrkamp Verlag. pp. 292–294.
  14. 1 2 3 "Ileana Cotrubas". Glyndebourne. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Vorstellungen mit Ileana Cotrubas". Vienna State Opera. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The soprano Ileana Cotrubas has died aged 87 Ileana Cotrubas". Gramophone. 20 August 2026. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Performances with Ileana Cotrubas". Royal Opera House. 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Brachmann, Jan (21 August 2026). "Eigensinn, zart / Zum Tod der Sopranistin Ileana Cotrubas" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Archived from the original on 21 August 2026. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "La bohème". Metropolitan Opera Archives. 23 March 1977. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  20. 1 2 3 "Ileana Cotrubaș". Metropolitan Opera Archives. 2026. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  21. 1 2 Henahan, Donal (19 March 1981). "Opera: Ileana Cotrubas in MET's New 'Traviata'". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 Poser, Julia (4 June 1999). "Aufrichtige Abrechnung / Biographie: "Opernwahrheiten" von Ileana Cotrubas". JF-Archiv (in German). Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  23. ↑ Holland, Bernard (20 September 1981). "Anthony Bliss: Culture and Commerce at the Met". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  24. 1 2 Heinsen, Geerd (1 February 2018). "Parasitenkunst". Opera Lounge (in German). Archived from the original on 22 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Kirchenkonzert: c-Moll-Messe". Salzburg Festival. 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  26. ↑ Schonberg, Harold C. (8 December 1977). "Music: Fine Recital By Ileana Cotrubas". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Lied Recitals / Ileana Cotrubas". Salzburg Festival. 14 August 1978. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  28. ↑ "Elena Tsallagova". Die Hamburgische Staatsoper (in German). Archived from the original on 20 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  29. ↑ Sommeregger, Peter (12 June 2024). "Wir gratulieren Ileana Cotrubaș zum 85. Geburtstag". klassik-begeistert.de (in German). Archived from the original on 7 February 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  30. ↑ "Decret nr. 564". legislatie.just.ro (in Romanian). 1 December 2000. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  31. ↑ "Aufnahmen zu / Bastien, du fliehst von mir (Bastien und Bastienne, KV 50 (46b))". Mozarteum. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pelleas et Melisande by Debussy, Paris 1980". premiereopera.com. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 8". jpc.de (in German). 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "Mass in C minor, K. 427 / Mozart". ECU Libraries Catalog. 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  35. 1 2 Fischer, Guido (23 October 2021). "Volt & Vinyl – Carlos Kleiber". Rondo (in German). Archived from the original on 6 November 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  36. ↑ "Mahler: Symphony No. 2 / Schmidt: Symphony No.4". AllMusic. 2026. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  37. 1 2 Campbell, Alexander (December 2009). "Sony Opera House". Classical Source. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "Opern-Aufnahmen aus dem Jahr 1976 (Teil 5)". ORF (in German). 2026. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  39. ↑ Levine, Robert (16 November 2005). "Donizetti: L'elisir/Cotrubas/Domingo". Classics Today. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  40. ↑ Clements, Andrew (16 August 2012). "Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  41. ↑ "Ileana Cotrubaș". Naxos. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  42. ↑ Farr, Robert J (December 2006). "Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) / Rigoletto". musicwebinternational.com. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  43. ↑ "Eterna LP 827100 bis 827199". Lied der Zeit (in German). 7 November 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  44. ↑ "Georges Bizet, Ileana Cotrubas, Alain Vanzo, Guillermo Sarabia, ... Georges Prêtre – Les Pêcheurs De Perles". eclecticorecords.com. 2026. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  45. ↑ "Ileana Cotrubas singt Lieder". jpc.de (in German). 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  46. ↑ Moore, Ralph (28 March 2024). "Berlioz's Béatrice & Bénédict / A survey of the major recordings". musicwebinternational.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2026. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  47. ↑ Braun, Christoph (1 September 2007). "Giuseppe Verdi / Rigoletto". Rondo (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  48. ↑ "Puccini – La Bohème". ricardo.ch. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  49. ↑ "Ruggero Leoncavallo: I Pagliacci". jpc.de (in German). 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  50. ↑ "Bizet: Carmen". highresaudio.com. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  51. ↑ "Mozart Requiem, K 626/ Marriner". Deutsche Grammophon. 2026. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
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