Sena Jurinac

Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac (24 October 1921 - ) is an operatic soprano, now retired, born in Travnik, Bosnia.

Her father was a Croatian doctor, her mother Viennese. She studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music, and also with Milka Kostrenčić (whose other well-known pupil was Zinka Milanov).

Sena Jurinac made her début as Mimì at Zagreb in 1942. In the following two years she sang the Countess, Freia and Isabella in the première of Werner Egk’s "Columbus". In 1944 she was engaged by the Vienna State Opera. Because of the War she was not able to sing there until 1946, when her first role was Cherubino. In the first year at the Staatsoper she sang more than 150 performances. She remained associated with the company for nearly forty years, receiving an honorary membership of the Company, giving her the title of "Kammersängerin", and the Mozart Medal.

In the autumn of 1946 she appeared at Covent Garden with the Vienna company, singing Dorabella. Her Salzburg Festival début was in 1947. She appeared at La Scala as Cherubino. She became established as one of the Wiener Ensemble (together with Irmgard Seefried, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig, Lisa della Casa, Anton Dermota and others). Additionally, she remained a frequent visitor to England: between 1951-56 she sang the principal Mozart soprano rôles at Glyndebourne, recording both the Countess in "Figaro" and Ilia in "Idomeneo". She appeared regularly at Covent Garden between 1959 and 1963, singing Leonore in "Fidelio" in Klemperer's production of the opera in 1961. Her American début was in the title rôle of "Madama Butterfly" in San Francisco in 1959.

Her repertoire included Amor, Butterfly, Cherubino, Composer "(Ariadne auf Naxos)," Countess Almaviva, Desdemona, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, Dorabella, Elisabeth "(Tannhäuser)," Elisabetta "(Don Carlos)," Eurydice, Fiordiligi, Ilia, Iphigenia, Jenůfa, Leonora "(La Forza del Destino)", Leonore "(Fidelio"), Marie (Wozzeck), Marina "(Boris Godunov)", Marzelline "(Fidelio)," Octavian, Pamina, Poppea and Tosca.

Her portrayal of Octavian is preserved in the Paul Czinner film of "Der Rosenkavalier", conducted by Herbert von Karajan, with Schwarzkopf as the Marschallin.

Sena Jurinac’s final operatic performance was as the Marschallin at the Vienna State Opera in November 1982. She continued to give recitals and masterclasses, and served on the juries of international singing competitions.

References

*Bach Cantata website [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Jurinac-Sena]
*Classical CD Review [http://www.classicalcdreview.com/jurinac.htm]
*Naxos website [http://www.naxos.com/artistinfo/7318.htm]
*Rasponi, Lanfranco: "The Last Prima Donnas", Alfred A Knopf, 1982. ISBN 0-394-52153-6
* [http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/CLSIJURI.HTM Discography] (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)

External links

*hr icon [http://www.matica.hr/vijenac/vij204.nsf/AllWebDocs/Sretanzgoditak Vijenac] Sretan zgoditak za operu