- Elena Gaja
Opera singer Elena Gaja (born
October 26 ,1946 inBraşov ,Romania ) is one of the greatest Romanianmezzo soprano s.She graduated from the
Ciprian Porumbescu Music Academy inBucharest under the guidance of the great sopranoMagda Ianculescu . An intense stage actress,Gaja had an affinity for the French opera repertoire and also for Verdi and "verismo". She distinguished herself from the other mezzo sopranos by her rare type of "mezzosoprano-contralto" voice (which today is disappearing) in the tradition ofMarietta Alboni andClara Butt with a cavernous low register and a powerful dark-coloured voice which earned her the name of a "viola da gamba".She sang with all the philarmonics and opera theaters from Romania and she appeared in all the great roles written for the mezzo soprano voice. She also sang with the philarmonics in concert the complete
Manuel de Falla lied cicles.In December 1982 she won the [http://concorsobellini.org/ Bellini International Opera Contest] , becoming the only Romanian singer to have won this prestigious contest for opera singers.
For some decades she was a soloist of the [http://ort.ro/ Romanian National Opera from Timişoara] . She distinguished herself in performances among the great Russian tenors from
Moscow and the great Romanian singers. She toured many times inItaly ,Spain ,France ,Austria ,Germany ,Belgium ,Holland and Eastern-bloc nations such asRussia ,Bulgaria ,Finland ,Lithuania , theRepublic of Macedonia ,Croatia , theCzech Republic , etc., being named in the 1980s the third "Carmen" ofEurope afterIrina Arhipova andElena Cernei .She appeared most frequently as
Carmen which became one of her hallmarks and which she performed more than 300 times.She retired from the stage in 1996 but continued to give concerts and opera recitals, her repertoire including opera arias, sacred arias, oratorio, lied to tango, zarzuelas and film music.
She supports younger opera singers, teaching canto at the "Faculty of Music" from the
Timişoara University of the West . She has also opened new doors for the young lyric artists promoting Romanian artists and culture in the rest of Europe.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
