Leyla Gencer

Leyla Gencer, or Ayşe Leyla Çeyrekgil (b. October 10, 1928 in Istanbul, Turkey – d. May 10, 2008 in Milan, Italy) was a world-renowned Turkish soprano opera singer.

Known as "La Diva Turca" (The Turkish Diva) and "La Regina" (The Queen) in the opera world, Gencer was a notable bel canto soprano who spent most of her career in Italy, from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, and had a repertoire encompassing more than seventy roles. She made very few commercial recordings; however, numerous bootleg recordings of her performances exist. In particular, Gencer was associated with the heroines of Donizetti.

Biography

Leyla Gencer was born in Istanbul as the daughter of a Turkish father and Polish mother. Her mother, Lexanda Angela Minakovska (who later converted to Islam and chose the name "Atiye" after her husband's death), was the member of a Polish Catholic family of the Lithuanian aristocracy; while her father, Hasanzade İbrahim Bey (who later adopted the surname "Çeyrekgil" following the Surname Law of 1934) was a wealthy businessman who descended from a Turkish family of the Sunni Muslim faith, from the city of Safranbolu. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1950447/Leyla-Gencer.html Telegraph.co.uk: Leyla Gencer] ]

Gencer lost her father at a very young age. She grew up in the Çubuklu district of Istanbul, on the Anatolian side of the Bosporus, and began to study singing at the Istanbul Conservatory; but dropped out to study privately in Ankara with her teacher, the Italian soprano Giannina Arangi-Lombardi. She sang in the chorus of the Turkish State Theater until she made her operatic debut in Ankara in 1950 as Santuzza in "Cavalleria Rusticana". During the next few years, she became well-known in Turkey and sang frequently at functions for the Turkish government.

In 1953, Gencer made her Italian debut at the San Carlo in Naples as Santuzza. She returned to Naples the following year for performances of "Madama Butterfly" and "Eugene Onegin". In 1957, she made her debut at La Scala in Milan as Mme. Lidoine in the world premiere of Poulenc's "Dialogues des Carmélites". She went on to appear regularly at La Scala, performing nineteen roles between 1957 and 1983, including Leonora in "La Forza del Destino", Elisabetta in "Don Carlos", "Aïda", Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth", "Norma", Ottavia in "L'incoronazione di Poppea", and "Alceste". At La Scala, she also appeared as the First Woman of Canterbury in the world premiere of Pizzetti's "L'assassinio nella cattedrale" in 1958.

In 1962, Gencer made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Elisabetta di Valois and as Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni". She made her U.S. debut at the San Francisco Opera in 1956 as Francesca in "Francesca da Rimini". She sang at other American opera houses as well, but never sang at the Metropolitan Opera, though there had been discussions for her to sing "Tosca" there in 1956.

In 1985, Gencer retired from the operatic stage with a performance of Gnecco's "La Prova di un'opera seria" at La Fenice. She continued to appear in concerts until 1992. As of 2007, she was still active, and had recently been appointed by La Scala's music director Riccardo Muti to run its school for young artists.

Throughout her career, Gencer was known primarily as a Donizetti interpreter. Among her best-known Donizetti performances are "Belisario", "Poliuto", "Anna Bolena", "Lucrezia Borgia", "Maria Stuarda", and "Caterina Cornaro". Her most acclaimed and best-known performance, though, was "Roberto Devereux", which she sang in Naples in 1964.

In addition to the bel canto roles for which she is best known, Gencer's repertory also included works by such composers as Prokofiev, Mozart, and Puccini. She appeared in many rarely performed operas, including Smareglia's "La Falena", Rossini's "Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra", Spontini's "Agnese di Hohenstaufen", Pacini's "Saffo", and Gluck's "Alceste".

Gencer achieved an international career in a short time and performed with renowned Italian maestros such as; Gui, Serafin, Gavazzeni and Muti. She contributed to the improvement of the 'Donizetti Renaissance' with her great performances of Donizetti's forgotten operas.

Gencer's repertoire consists of 72 roles including works from composers such as; Monteverdi, Gluck, Mozart to neo-classical period; from Cherubini, Spontini, Johann Simon Mayr and the romantic period to Puccini, Prokofiev, Britten, Poulenc, Menotti and Rocca; from a lyric soprano varying to dramatic colorature.

Chopin's 'Lyric Compositions' she performed in Paris with Nikita Magaloff, her Liszt-Bartok performance in La Scala and her concert regarding 'the operas about Turks' within the Venice Carnival at La Fenice Theatre, show her innovative character as an opera singer. She concluded her singing career in 1985 with Francesco Gnecco's 'La Prova di un'Opera Seria' performance at La Fenice Theatre, though she continued to give concerts until 1992.

In 1982, Gencer dedicated herself for education of young opera artists. She worked as a didactic art director of As.Li.Co. of Milan between 1983-88 and was appointed by Maestro Riccardo Muti to run La Scala's School for Young Artists between 1997-1998. Gencer was the artistic director of the academy for opera artists formed in Teatro alla Scala where she taught opera interpretation.

Gencer performed leading roles in many famous operas and she is known as the 'last diva of the 20th century'. She achieved her strong presence in the opera world, not only by the variety of her repertoire, but also with the dramatic nuances that she attributed to the roles she performed. Being a good researcher and a teacher, she reintroduced many forgotten works of the romantic period to the opera stages. In 1996 she had a spectacular appearance in Jan Schmidt-Garre's film "Opera Fanatic".

Gencer died on May 10, 2008 in Milan, Italy. Following the funeral service in San Babila Church and subsequently cremation in Milan, her ashes were brought to Istanbul and consigned to the waters of the Bosphorus on May 16, 2008 according to her wish. [cite news |url=http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=104729 |title=Ashes of Leyla Gencer scattered across Bosporus |publisher=Turkish Daily News |date=2008-05-17 ]

Obituaries

* The Independent [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/leyla-gencer-operatic-soprano-idolised-in-italy-828259.html?r=RSS Leyla Gencer: Operatic soprano idolised in Italy ]
* The Guardian [http://music.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2279582,00.html A Turkish soprano of great dramatic power, she excelled in a wide range of Italian opera ]
* Telegraph [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1950447/Leyla-Gencer.html Imperious soprano known as the Turkish Diva who made a glittering career at La Scala. ]
* Times [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3925306.ece Turkish operatic soprano who excelled in bel canto and Verdi roles ]
* The New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/arts/music/13gencer.html?ref=obituaries Leyla Gencer, Turkish-Born Soprano and a Popular Star of La Scala, Dies ]
* Los Angeles Times [http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings11-2008may11,0,3255111.story Turkish soprano thrived in Italy ]
* International Herald Tribune [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/11/america/Deaths.php Leyla Gencer ]
* Boston Herald [http://news.bostonherald.com/news/obituaries/general/view.bg?articleid=1093143 Soprano Leyla Gencer, known as La Diva Turca, dies in Milan ]
* The Boston Globe [http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/05/11/leyla_gencer_turkish_soprano_made_mark_on_italian_stage Leyla Gencer; Turkish soprano made mark on Italian stage ]
* Denver Post [http://www.denverpost.com/obituaries/ci_9221769 Turkish soprano Gencer, who performed at La Scala, dies]
* BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7395794.stm Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer dies ]
* Turkish Daily News [http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=104160 Turkish opera diva Leyla Gencer dies ]

Awards and honors

* 1957-06-11 Gold Medal for Puccini merits
* 1958 Silver Medal of Expo Bruxelles
* 1959 Silver Medal awarded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* 1960 Gold Medal awarded by Harriet Cohen London
* 1960 Honourable citizenship of Dallas
* 1961 Silver Medal of the Artist of the Year awarded by the Association of Turkish Women
* 1963 Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Verdi's birthday
* 1967 "Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana" awarded by the President of the Republic of Italy Giuseppe Saragat, given by the President of Senate Amintore Fanfani
* 1967 Golden Pigeon of RAI for "Maria Stuarda"
* 1967 The medal of Naples Press Association for "her artistic contribution to the popularization of the Italian melodrama"
* 1968 Gold Medal of the Friends of the Lyric Art of Verona
* 1970 Gold Medal in Genoa
* 1970 Gold Medal in Caracalla Therms
* 1971 Golden Number Plate of Naples Press Association
* 1972-11-17 Golden Stage of the Friends of the Lyric Art of Mantova (together with Ruggiero Raimondi)
* 1973 Vicepresident of the Donizetti Society
* 1973 International Award Luigi Illica in Castellarquato
* 1974-10-19 XXIX Siver Masque 1973-74
* 1975 XIII Award of Italian discographic critics for the recital album "Omaggio a Leyla Gencer" Cetra LPO 2001
* 1975 International Award "Le Muse" in Florence
* 1977-01-22 International Award "La Madonnina" (for the Theater), Milan
* 1979 Verdi Award "For Leyla Gencer, sublime Verdian interpreter", Parma Lirica
* 1983-06 Golden Rose from the Friends of the Great Theatre of Brescia
* 1985 "Montpellier millenaire 985-1985", Silver Medal for Leyla Gencer and Giuseppe di Stefano
* 1985 "Concours International d'Opera Marseille 26-06-85 Leyla Gencer", appreciation and medal
* 1985-09-23 Award "Lauri Volpi Memorial" granted by Lyric Art Association Giuseppe Verdi, Reggio Emilia
* 1988 The President of Turkey declared Gencer a "State Artist". The [http://www.leylagencer.org/en/index.asp 'Leyla Gencer Voice Competition'] has been held in Istanbul since 1996.
* 2002 She received the prestigious Puccini Honor Award from the The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation at Lincoln Center in New York City.
* 2004 The Turkish Mint issued a commemorative coin in silver, bearing her figure and worth USD 10.

Discography

* Bellini: "Norma" / 1966, de Fabritiis, Gencer, Cossotto, et al
* Bellini: "Norma" / 1965, Gavazzeni, Gencer, Simionato, et al
* Bellini: "Beatrice di Tenda"1964 / Gui, Gencer, Zanasi, et al
* Bellini: "I Puritani" 1961 / Quadri, Gencer, Raimondi, et al
* Pacini: "Saffo" 1967 / Gencer, Del Bianco, Mattiucci
* Cherubini: "Medea" 1968/ Gencer, Bottion, et al
* Mayr: "Medea in Corinto" 1976/ Ferro, Gencer, Johns
* Gluck: "Alceste" 1967/ Gui, Gencer, Picchi
* Chopin: "Polish Songs"; Liszt / Leyla Gencer, Nikita Magaloff
* Donizetti: "Anna Bolena" 1958/ Gavazzeni, Gencer, Simionato, et al
* Donizetti: "Anna Bolena" 1965/ Gavazzeni, Gencer, Cava, et al
* Donizetti: "Caterina Cornaro" 1972 / Cillario, Gencer, Aragall
* Donizetti: "Les Martyrs" / 1975 Camozzo, Gencer, Bruson, et al
* Donizetti: "Les Martyrs" / 1978 Gelmetti, Gencer, Bruson, et al
* Donizetti: "Lucrezia Borgia" / 1970 Gracis, Gencer, Raimondi et al.
* Donizetti: "Lucrezia Borgia" / 1966 Franci, Gencer, Aragall, Petri et al.
* Donizetti: "Maria Stuarda" / 1967 Molinari-Pradelli, Gencer, Verret, Tagliavini et al.
* Donizetti: "Messa di Requiem" / Gavazzeni, Teatro La Fenice
* Donizetti: "Roberto Devereux" 1964 / Gencer, Cappuccilli, et al.
* Donizetti: "Belisario" 1969 / Gavazzeni, Gencer, Taddei et al.
* Mozart: "Don Giovanni" 1960/ Molinari-Pradelli, Gencer, Petri, Bruscantini, Stich-Randall et al
* Mozart: "Don Giovanni" 1962/ Solti, Gencer, Jurinac, Freni
* Ponchielli: "La Gioconda" 1971 / de Fabritiis, Gencer, Raimondi
* Zandonai: "Francesca da Rimini" 1961 / Capuana, Gencer, Cioni et al.
* Rossini: "Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra" 1971/ Sanzogno, Gencer, Grilli
* Verdi: "I due Foscari" 1957/ Serafin, Gencer, Guelfi
* Verdi: "Battaglia di Legnano" 1959/ Gencer, Limarilli
* Verdi: "Rigoletto" 1961/ Quadri, Gencer, McNeil, Raimondi
* Verdi: "Gerusalemme" 1963/ Gavazzeni, Gencer, Aragall, Guelfi
* Verdi: "I Vespri Siciliani" 1965/ Gavazzeni, Gencer, et al
* Verdi: "Macbeth" 1960/ Gui, Gencer, Taddei, Picchi et al.
* Verdi: "Macbeth" 1968/ Gavazzeni, Gencer, Guelfi, Corradi, et al
* Verdi: "Attila" 1972/ Silipigni, Gencer, Hines
* Verdi: "Ernani" 1972/ Gavazzeni, Gencer, Bergonzi
* Verdi: "Simon Boccanegra" 1961/ Gavazzeni, Gobbi, Gencer
* Verdi: "Trovatore" 1957/Previtali, Gencer, Del Monaco, Barbieri, Bastianini
* Verdi: "Un ballo in maschera" 1961/ Gencer, Bergonzi
* Verdi: "Aida" 1966/ Capuana, Gencer, Bergonzi, Cossotto
* Verdi: "La Forza del Destino" 1957/ Serafin, Gencer, Di Stefano
* Verdi: "La Forza del Destino" 1965/ Molinari Pradelli, Gencer, Bergonzi

See also

* Turkish State Opera and Ballet

External links

* [http://www.leylagencer.eu Leyla Gencer biography, performance chronology, discography and videography]
* [http://www.leylagencer.org/en/index.asp Leyla Gencer Voice Competition]
* [http://www.leylagencer.org/en/leyla_gencer.asp?cid=56&k1=leyla_gencer&k2=biyografi Biography with photo gallery]
* [http://www.belcantosociety.org/pages/gencer.html Belcanto Society page with Interview and photos]
* [http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/stagioni/2007_2008/addio_a_leyla_gencer.html Tribute of the Teatro alla Scala to Leyla Gencer]

References