Ljuba Welitsch

Ljuba Welitsch

Ljuba Welitsch (Bulgarian: Люба Величкова) (born Borissovo, Bulgaria July 10, 1913 - died Vienna, Austria September 1, 1996) was a celebrated Bulgarian, later Austrian, operatic soprano.

She studied singing at Sofia Conservatory with professor Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin. After specializing in Vienna, she first appeared in Sofia in 1936. Engagements followed in Graz, Hamburg, Munich and finally at the Vienna State Opera.

Known for her red hair and exuberant vivacity, her most famous role was that of "Salome", which she performed under the composer, Richard Strauss, himself in 1944 on his 80th birthday. She sang the same role for her London debut in 1947 and her first performance at the Metropolitan Opera, New York on 4 February 1949. She also sang the title roles of "Tosca" and "Aida", Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni", Minnie in "La fanciulla del West" and Musetta in "La bohème".

Her voice was neither creamy nor shrill, possessing a small beat, to which the microphone is kind. This voice was very capable of riding the Straussian orchestra. Welitsch is a unique singer and her uniqueness is quickly established. Where others linger and milk the moment, she presses ahead, testing the ability of conductors to follow her. It is usually at the moment a doubt has formed that Welitsch confounds the listener by some sudden conversational intimacy that breaks through convention utterly. Even more astonishing is the way she achieves these moments without breaking the line for dramatic effect.*

A great artist, she was also capable of extraordinary over-the-top exhibitions and her exploits at the Metropolitan in New York were legendary, including a raunchy Musetta that struck fear into her colleagues, and a Tosca performance when she repeatedly kicked the supposedly dead body of the Scarpia, Lawrence Tibbett, to whom she had taken a personal dislike.

Her international career, already interrupted by the war, did not last long, although she actually continued singing until 1981. Appearances included those at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the 1950s. However when her voice deteriorated she started a second career in films (in America and Austria) and on Austrian television.

She was married twice and divorced twice, with no children. She is buried in Vienna's Zentralfriedhof.

Recordings

She did not make many recordings but her account of the final scene of "Salome" sets a standard by which every aspiring performer in the role is still judged.

The Metropolitan performance of "Salome" from 1949 is available on CD (Gebhardt Records JGCD 0013)

Although Welitsch did not record for the studio often, her art can be appreciated in a collection entitled "Ljuba Welitsch: The Radio Years RY102" in which she can be heard in arias by Weber, Verdi, Smetana, Dvorak, Puccini and Strauss and lieder by Schubert.

ources

*Branscombe, Peter: "Welitsch, Ljuba" in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7

*James Beswick Whitehead, http://www.btinternet.com/~j.b.w/welit.htm

Links

[http://www.tsanoff-classic.com/TheGreatestBulgarians/Ljuba.Welitsch/ Information for Ljuba Welitsch]


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  • Ljuba Welitsch — (en bulgare Люба Величкова, Ljuba Welitschkova), née à Borissovo en Bulgarie le 10 juillet 1913 et décédée à Vienne en Autriche le 1er septembre 1996, était une célèbre soprano lyrique bulgare puis autrichienne. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ljuba Welitsch — (* 10. Juli 1913 in Borissowo, Bulgarien; † 1. September 1996 in Wien; eigentlich Veličkova) war eine bulgarisch/österreichische Opernsängerin (Sopran). Trotz ihrer relativ kurzen Karriere wird sie von Kritikern zu den bedeutendsten Sängerinnen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ljuba Welitsch — ( Люба Величкова) nació en Borissovo, Bulgaria el 10 de julio de 1913 y murió en Viena el 1 de septiembre de 1996. Fue una soprano lírica búlgara (nacionalizada austríaca) de excepcionales medios vocales e impactante presencia escénica… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ljuba Welitsch — Ljuba Velichkova …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • WELITSCH (L.) — Ljuba WELITSCH 1913 1996 Née à Borissovo, en Bulgarie, le 10 juillet 1913, c’est à Sofia que Ljuba Veli face= EU Caron カkova étudie le chant avec G. Zlater Cherkin. En 1934, à vingt et un ans, la jeune soprano, qui n’a pas encore choisi de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ljuba — steht für: eine Koseform des russischen weiblichen Vornamens Ljubow Ljuba (Mammut), Mumie eines Wollhaarmammuts (1062) Ljuba, Asteroid Ljuba Welitsch (1913−1996), bulgarisch österreichische Opernsängerin (Sopran) Ljuba Kasarnovskaya (* 1956),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Welitsch — Welitsch,   Ljuba, eigentlich L. Welịtschkowa, österreichische Sängerin (Sopran) bulgarischer Herkunft, * Borissowo (Gebiet Plewen) 10. 7. 1913, ✝ Wien 1. 9. 1996; debütierte 1934 in Sofia und war 1940 43 Mitglied der Hamburg., 1943 45 der… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Welitsch, Ljuba — ▪ 1997       Bulgarian born Austrian opera singer whose international career in the 1940s and 50s was highlighted by her interpretation of the title role in Richard Strauss s Salome (b. July 10, 1913 d. Sept. 2, 1996). * * * …   Universalium

  • Salome (opéra) — Salome Salomé Salomé avec la tête de saint Jean Baptiste, représentée par Le Titien (vers 1515), Galerie Doria Pamphilj, Rome …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Salomé (ópera) — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase Salomé. Salomé es un drama musical en un acto de Richard Strauss. Fue estrenada el 9 de diciembre de 1905 en el Königliches Opernhaus de Dresde. El libreto está escrito en… …   Wikipedia Español

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