Home > Ileana Cotrubas

The Romanian soprano Ilena Cotrubas (born June 9, 1939) is a famous opera singer whose career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was much admired for her acting skills and facility for singing opera in many different languages.

Cotrubas was born in Galati. She grew up in a musical family; her father, Vasile, was a tenor in an amateur chorus. Cotrubas' musical career began at the age of nine when she became a member of a children's radio chorus. By the age of eleven, she was one of its leading soloists.

In 1952 she moved to Bucharest to study at the Scoala Speciala de Muzica school for the musically gifted. Cotrubas made her stage debut with the Bucharest Opera as Yniold in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande in 1964. She subsequently expanded her repertory to include roles such as Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Gilda in Rigoletto, and Blondchen in The Abduction from the Seraglio and began appearing in productions throughout Europe.

In 1965, Cotrubas won an important competition in 's Hertogenbosch (the NetherlandsDutch redirects here. For other uses, see Dutch (disambiguation). The Netherlands ( Dutch: Nederland is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a constitutional monarchy. It is located in northwestern Europe and borders the North Sea, Belgium) where she won first prize in opera, lieder, and oratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus. It differs from an opera in that it does not have either scenery, costumes or acting. Most oratorios from the common practice period to the present day have biblical them. The following year, she won a radio-television competition in Munich. Those awards, together with her great success in the role of Pamina at BrusselsBrussels ( French: Bruxelles Dutch: Brussel German: Brussel is a major city in Belgium and its capital. Overview Brussels is first of all a city located in the middle of Belgium and its capital, but it sometimes also refers to the main municipality of the, led to appearances in the Vienna State OperaVienna State Opera (in German: Wiener Staatsoper is one of the most important opera companies in Europe. It is located in Vienna, Austria. Until 1920 it was named Vienna Court Opera''. The original State Opera, a neo-romantic building severely criticized, Hamburg State OperaThe Hamburg State Opera (in German: Hamburgische Staatsoper 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 Thei, Berlin State OperaBerlin State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Berlin is a prominent German opera company. Its permanent home is the Unter den Linden Opera House on Unter den Linden in Berlin. Early years Frederick II commissioned the original building on the site and constru and Salzburg FestivalThe Salzburg Festival is a prominent music festival in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The festival was founded in 1877 but was discontinued in 1910. In 1918, at the close of World War I, the festival was revived b, and to a contract with the Frankfurt Opera .

In 1969, She also made her British debut at the Glyndebourne as Mélisande, and sang two succeeding seasons there in the title role of Cavalli's Calisto. She made her début at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1971 as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

Cotrubas signed a three-year contract with the Vienna State Opera in 1970. During her time there, she learned the roles of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Violetta in La Traviata, Mimi in La Bohème, and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier.

In 1973, she made her American operatic debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Mimi.

Cotrubas made her internatinal breakthrough when on January 7, 1975, when she replaced Mirella Freni at La Scala as Mimi. She had to fly from her home in Kent and arrived 15 minutes before curtain time. Her interpretation was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.

Cotrubas made her Metropolitan Opera debut on March 23, 1977, as Mimi in a production with José Carreras and Renata Scotto. She returned to the Met as Gilda in a televised performance of Rigoletto in the 1977-78 season, and as Violetta with Plácido Domingo in the 1980-81 season.

Cotrubas is also well-known for being very demanding of directors and colleagues. On several occasions — Eugene Onegin in Vienna in 1973 and Don Pasquale at the Met in 1980 — she walked out of productions when she disagreed with the stage director.

Cotrubas retired from public singing in 1990, but she continues to teach, giving master classes and coaching promising young singers, such as Angela Gheorghiu.