The death has been announced of the Romanian soprano Ileana Cotrubaș at the age of 87. Born in Galați on 9th June 1939 into a family of musicians, Cotrubaș began her career in the Romanian Radio Children’s Choir. In 1952, she attended the Special School of Music in Bucharest, making her stage debut with the Bucharest Opera in 1964. before going on to conquer the world’s great opera houses.
During her career, Cotrubaș performed, among other places, at the Wiener Staatsoper, the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, the Salzburg Festival, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The defining moment in her career came in 1975 when she stepped in at the last minute to replace Mirella Freni as Mimì in La bohème at La Scala.
Admired for her expressive performances – especially as Violetta (La traviata), Mimì (La bohème), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Tatyana (Eugene Onegin) – and her intelligent phrasing and nobility, Cotrubaș collaborated with legendary conductors, such as Carlos Kleiber, with whom she recorded a famous Traviata.
After retiring from the stage in 1990, she continued to contribute to the art form through teaching and masterclasses.
