Sylvia Sass

Sylvia Sass (July 12, 1951) is an acclaimed Hungarian operatic soprano, particularly associated with Verdi roles.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, she studied at Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Ferenc Révhegyi. She made herprofessional debut at the Hungarian State Opera, as Frasquita in Georges Bizet's "Carmen", in 1971. The following year, she appeared at the Sofia National Opera, as Violetta in "La traviata", and during the 1974-75 season at the Salzburg Festival singing Mozart in concert.

In 1975, she sang at the Scottish Opera, as Desdemona in Verdi's "Otello", and in 1976, made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London, in a much acclaimed performance of Giselda in "I Lombardi", returning the following season as Violetta. In 1977, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as "Tosca". She also appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the Munich State Opera, the opera houses of Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, as well as the Paris Opera and the Aix-en-Provence Festival, both as Violetta. In 1978, she made her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, as Puccini's "Manon Lescaut", conducted by Georges Prêtre, a performance that was televised live across Europe.

Her repertory also included; Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni", Fiordiligi in "Cosi fan tutte", Mimi in "La bohème", Judith in Bela Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle, etc, but she was particularly admired in early Verdi operas, especially as Lady Macbeth.

Sass has won many awards, the first in 1972 when she won first prize at the "Kodály Voice Competition". In 1973, she won the Grand Prix as Violetta at the "International Opera Competition for Young Singers". In 1974, she won the Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, in Moscow. She was also made an Honored Artist of Hungary, in 1977.

Her exceptional vocal and dramatic talent prompted some to hail her as the second Maria Callas. However, perhaps as a result of having taken on too much too soon, her voice deteriorated early, and by the end of the 1980's, she had all but vanished from the operatic scene. In recent years, she has settled in France, where she keeps busy painting and giving masterclasses.

Sass has made several recordings of arias, lieder, and complete operas, notably "Bluebeard's Castle" and "Don Giovanni", both conducted by Georg Solti, Verdi's "I Lombardi", "Ernani", "Attila", "Macbeth", "Stiffelio", all conducted by Lamberto Gardelli, as well as Cherubini's "Médée", again with Gardelli, Richard Strauss's "Four Last Songs" and Richard Wagner's "Wesendonck Lieder".

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* [http://www.operissimo.com Operissimo.com]