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Agnes Baltsa

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Greek mezzo-soprano singer
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Agnes Baltsa
Born (1944-11-19) November 19, 1944 (age 81)
Alma materGreek National Conservatoire
OccupationOpera Singer

Agni Baltsa[1] (Greek: Agne Mpaltsa; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.

Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of seven,[2] before moving to Athens in 1958 to concentrate on singing. She graduated from the Greek National Conservatoire in 1965 and then travelled to Munich to continue studying on a Maria Callas scholarship.

Baltsa made her first appearance in an opera in 1968 as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro at Frankfurt Opera,[2] before going on to appear as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera in 1970. Under the guidance of Herbert von Karajan, she became a regular at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. She became Kammersangerin of the Vienna State Opera in 1980.

Her best-known performance is that of Carmen by Georges Bizet, which she has sung a number of times with noted tenors such as Jose Carreras,[3] Neil Shicoff, and others. She has also sung works by Mozart (notably Cosi fan tutte), Rossini (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Semiramide, L'italiana in Algeri), Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana), Saint-Saens (Samson et Dalila),[4] Verdi (Aida, La forza del destino, Il trovatore, Don Carlos), Bellini (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Offenbach (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and Donizetti (Il Campanello, Maria Stuarda).

She starred in the Austrian film Duett in 1992, playing an opera singer.

In 2017, she sang Klytemnestra in Richard Strauss's Elektra at the Greek National Opera's new premises at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.[5]

Awards, Honors, and Memberships

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  • 1980: Kammersangerin (Austria)[6]
  • 1988: Honorary member (Vienna State Opera)
  • 1993: Members (European Academy of Arts and Sciences)
  • Prix du Prestige Lyrique
  • Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
  • Gold Medal of the City of Vienna
  • Gold Medal of the City of Athens
  • Wilhelm-Furtwangler Award
  • 2025: Lifetime Achievement Award (International Opera)

Discography

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Operas

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Year of release Album details Contributing artists Label
1976 Mozart: Ascanio in Alba Lilian Sukis, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Arleen Auger, Salzburger Kammerchor, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold Hager DG
1977 Mozart: Mitridate Arleen Auger, Ileana Cotrubas, Edita Gruberova, Christine Weidinger, Werner Hollweg, David Kubler, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold Hager DG
1978 Strauss: Salome Hildegard Behrens, Karl-Walter Bohm, Jose van Dam, Wieslaw Ochman, Helja Angervo, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan EMI
1979 Verdi: Don Carlos Nicolai Ghiaurov, Jose Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, Jose van Dam, Mirella Freni, Edita Gruberova, Barbara Hendricks, Chor der Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan EMI
1980 Verdi: Aida Mirella Freni, Jose Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, Jose van Dam, Katia Ricciarelli, Thomas Moser, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan EMI
1981 Massenet: Therese Francisco Araiza, George Fortune, Giancarlo Luccardi, Gino Sinimberghi, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI, Gerd Albrecht Atlantis
1981 Ponchielli: La Gioconda Montserrat Caballe, Alfreda Hodgson, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sherrill Milnes, London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Bartoletti Decca
1982 Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice Margaret Marshall, Edita Gruberova, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti EMI
1982 Donizetti: Il Campanello Enzo Dara, Carlo Gaifa, Biancamaria Casoni, Angelo Romero, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Symphoniker, Gary Bertini CBS
1983 Bizet: Carmen Jose Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, Jose van Dam, Choeurs de l'Opera de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Deutsche Grammophon
1983 Mozart: Cosi fan tutte Margaret Marshall, Francisco Araiza, James Morris, Kathleen Battle, Jose van Dam, Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Riccardo Muti EMI (live recording)
1983 Rossini: The Barber of Seville Thomas Allen, Francisco Araiza, Domenico Trimarchi, Robert Lloyd, Sally Burgess, Matthew Best, John Noble, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner Philips
1984 Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Kurt Moll, Gottfried Hornik, Janet Perry, Wilma Lipp, Heinz Zednik, Kurt Equiluz, Vinson Cole, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Deutsche Grammophon
1985 Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi Edita Gruberova, Gwynne Howell, Dano Raffanti, John Tomlinson, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Riccardo Muti EMI (live recording)
1986 Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro Ruggero Raimondi, Lucia Popp, Barbara Hendricks, Jose van Dam, Felicity Palmer, Aldo Baldin, Robert Lloyd, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner Philips Classics
1986 Mozart: Don Giovanni Samuel Ramey, Paata Burchuladze, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Gosta Winbergh, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Alexander Malta, Kathleen Battle, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Deutsche Grammophon
1986 Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Kathleen Battle, Gary Lakes, Hermann Prey, Otto Schenk, Heinz Zednik, Josef Protschka, Kurt Rydl, Barbara Bonney, Dawn Upshaw, Wiener Philharmoniker, James Levine Deutsche Grammophon
1986 Strauss II: Die Fledermaus Lucia Popp, Eva Lind, Placido Domingo, Peter Seiffert, Wolfgang Brendel, Kurt Rydl, Heinz Zednik, Helmut Lohner, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Placido Domingo EMI
1987 Verdi: La forza del destino Rosalind Plowright, Jose Carreras, Renato Bruson, Paata Burchuladze, Juan Pons, John Tomlinson, Jean Rigby, Richard Van Allan, Petteri Salomaa, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli Deutsche Grammophon
1988 Mozart: Idomeneo Luciano Pavarotti, Lucia Popp, Edita Gruberova, Leo Nucci, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir John Pritchard Decca
1988 Rossini: La Cenerentola Francisco Araiza, Simone Alaimo, Ruggero Raimondi, Carol Malone, Felicity Palmer, John del Carlo, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner Philips Classics
1989 Wagner: Tannhauser Matti Salminen, Placido Domingo, Andreas Schmidt, William Pell, Kurt Rydl, Clemens Bieber, Cheryl Studer, Barbara Bonney, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli Deutsche Grammophon
1989 Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri Ruggero Raimondi, Alessandro Corbelli, Frank Lopardo, Enzo Dara, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado Deutsche Grammophon
1990 Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana Placido Domingo, Juan Pons, Susanne Mentzer, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli Deutsche Grammophon
1990 Saint-Saens: Samson et Dalila Jose Carreras, Jonathan Summers, Simon Estes, Paata Burchuladze, Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davis Philips Classics
1990 Donizetti: Maria Stuarda Edita Gruberova, Iris Vermillion, Francisco Araiza, Simone Alaimo, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Giuseppe Patane Philips Classics

References

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  1. ^ Koutsoukis, Angelos (September 5, 2023). "When Agni Baltsa sang Stavros Xarchakos".
  2. ^ a b "Mpaltsa Agne - Ethnike Lurike Skene". virtualmuseum.nationalopera.gr. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  3. ^ Milnes, Rodney (26 September 1984). "Athens Festival - New look for familiar favourites". Financial Times. p. 12.
  4. ^ Clements, Andrew (20 May 1985). "Review of Samson Et Dalila at Covent Garden". Financial Times. p. 17.
  5. ^ Kiousopoulos, Demetres (2017-10-23). "O thriambos tes Elektras". Andro (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. ^ "Suntelestes". www.tch.gr. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
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