Maria Biesu
Encyclopedia
Maria Bieşu is one of Moldova
's most important opera singers. She has won an impressive reputation for herself as a chief vocalist of the Chişinău Opera and Ballet Theater
ever since her debut in 1961. Her artistic excellence brought her international recognition and invitation to sing in other countries, including Italy
, where she performed at the Milan
Opera from 1965 to 1967.
During her studies at the conservatory Maria Bieshu worked as a soloist in the country’s popular orchestra of Moldavian folk music – Flueraş. But the opera stage attracted her. After finishing the conservatory in 1961, Bieshu joined the troupe of the Moldavian Theater of Opera and Ballet. Her debut in the part of Tosca immediately revealed her outstanding operatic talent. In a short period she prepared the roles of Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Liza in Queen of Spades, and Cio-Cio-San in Madame Butterfly.
In 1965 the young singer was sent to the La Scala
theatre in Milan, where the vocal teacher and conductor, and assistant to the great Toscanini - Enrico Piazza - became her tutor. During her two-year stay the parts of Cio-Cio-San, Tosca, Aida, and Leonora in Il Trovatore were prepared. Maria’s stay in Milan coincided with her participation in major international competitions. In 1966 she became a prize-winner at the Third International Tchaikovsky Competition, and in 1967 in Tokyo she won first prize and honorary ‘Gold Cup’ prize, and won the title ‘Best Cio-Cio-San in the World’ at the First International Competition in Memory of Miura Tomaki.
After Maria Bieshu’s brilliant success at the Tokyo competition, her name gained wide-spread recognition. She played the roles of Cio-Cio-San, Aida, Leonora, Tosca, Tatyana, and Liza on the stages of many theatres in Europe. In 1971 the Moldavian singer was invited to New York’s Metropolitan Opera to play the part of Nedda in Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci. After playing this part she was offered a year-long contract for performing at the Metropolitan Opera. The New York Times wrote about this show: “Maria Bieshu is a charming and talented actress. She has a very beautiful and plastic voice. The singer carries herself surprisingly naturally on stage.” The press was unanimous in its appraisal of Maria Bieshu’s art.
Nature fully endowed Maria Bieshu with the qualities necessary for an opera performer: voice, musical talent and acting talent. This presented her singing with enormous repertorial opportunities. She is equally successful with lyrical parts (those such as Jolanta, Mimi), dramatic-passionate parts (such as Santuzza, Nedda, Turandot, Tosca) and bright-masterly parts (Leonora). She is a musician with a flawless sense of musical truth. Her performances always breathe with heartfelt warmth and spontaneous expression. There are more than thirty diverse roles in Bieshu’s opera record. To those already mentioned, we can add Verdi’s heroines – Leonora (La Forza del destino), Elisabeth (Don Carlos), Abigaille (Nabucco), Amelia (Un Ballo in maschera), and also Turandot in Puccini’s opera, Adriana (Adriana Lecouvreur by F. Cilea), Nastasya (in P. Tchaikovsky’s The Enchantress). Maria Bieshu’s greatest artistic achievement was he role of Norma in Bellini’s opera. This work established Bieshu as an opera artist of powerful tragic incandescence.
Maria Bieshu is an opera singer ‘blessed by God’, as they say. But no less significant is her chamber-concert activity. In chamber performances Bieshu is attracted to a delicate sense of style, careful work with musical and poetic texts, depth of emotional imagery, and emotional fullness and sincerity. The concert repertoire of the singer is very wide: J.S. Bach and Georg Frideric Handel, Caccini and Gretry, Schumann and Schubert, Franz Liszt and Grieg, Ottorino Respighi and Fauré, Sergei Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Sviridov, old Russian and Moldavian romances, folk songs, and compositions by contemporary Moldavian authors.
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
's most important opera singers. She has won an impressive reputation for herself as a chief vocalist of the Chişinău Opera and Ballet Theater
Chisinau National Opera
Chişinău National Opera, the national opera company of Moldova, based in the country's capital, Chişinău, was founded in the mid-1940s and became a professional company in 1956. Following the collapse of the USSR, the company is one of the few ex-Soviet opera companies to retain its own orchestra,...
ever since her debut in 1961. Her artistic excellence brought her international recognition and invitation to sing in other countries, including Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where she performed at the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
Opera from 1965 to 1967.
Biography
The Moldavian soprano, Maria (Lukyanovna) Bieshu, was born into a peasant family where everyone loved to sing. Within the walls of her native home the future singer acquired a natural style of singing with an easy breath which permitted specialists later to talk of Bieshu’s innate voice training. While studying in school, and then at the agricultural technical college, Maria began to perform at amateur concerts, but the singer did not think about a profession. However, pedagogues at the Kishinev Conservatory and the Minister of Culture himself, after hearing Maria sing at an amateur arts festival, sent her to study at the conservatory in 1955.During her studies at the conservatory Maria Bieshu worked as a soloist in the country’s popular orchestra of Moldavian folk music – Flueraş. But the opera stage attracted her. After finishing the conservatory in 1961, Bieshu joined the troupe of the Moldavian Theater of Opera and Ballet. Her debut in the part of Tosca immediately revealed her outstanding operatic talent. In a short period she prepared the roles of Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Liza in Queen of Spades, and Cio-Cio-San in Madame Butterfly.
In 1965 the young singer was sent to the La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
theatre in Milan, where the vocal teacher and conductor, and assistant to the great Toscanini - Enrico Piazza - became her tutor. During her two-year stay the parts of Cio-Cio-San, Tosca, Aida, and Leonora in Il Trovatore were prepared. Maria’s stay in Milan coincided with her participation in major international competitions. In 1966 she became a prize-winner at the Third International Tchaikovsky Competition, and in 1967 in Tokyo she won first prize and honorary ‘Gold Cup’ prize, and won the title ‘Best Cio-Cio-San in the World’ at the First International Competition in Memory of Miura Tomaki.
After Maria Bieshu’s brilliant success at the Tokyo competition, her name gained wide-spread recognition. She played the roles of Cio-Cio-San, Aida, Leonora, Tosca, Tatyana, and Liza on the stages of many theatres in Europe. In 1971 the Moldavian singer was invited to New York’s Metropolitan Opera to play the part of Nedda in Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci. After playing this part she was offered a year-long contract for performing at the Metropolitan Opera. The New York Times wrote about this show: “Maria Bieshu is a charming and talented actress. She has a very beautiful and plastic voice. The singer carries herself surprisingly naturally on stage.” The press was unanimous in its appraisal of Maria Bieshu’s art.
Nature fully endowed Maria Bieshu with the qualities necessary for an opera performer: voice, musical talent and acting talent. This presented her singing with enormous repertorial opportunities. She is equally successful with lyrical parts (those such as Jolanta, Mimi), dramatic-passionate parts (such as Santuzza, Nedda, Turandot, Tosca) and bright-masterly parts (Leonora). She is a musician with a flawless sense of musical truth. Her performances always breathe with heartfelt warmth and spontaneous expression. There are more than thirty diverse roles in Bieshu’s opera record. To those already mentioned, we can add Verdi’s heroines – Leonora (La Forza del destino), Elisabeth (Don Carlos), Abigaille (Nabucco), Amelia (Un Ballo in maschera), and also Turandot in Puccini’s opera, Adriana (Adriana Lecouvreur by F. Cilea), Nastasya (in P. Tchaikovsky’s The Enchantress). Maria Bieshu’s greatest artistic achievement was he role of Norma in Bellini’s opera. This work established Bieshu as an opera artist of powerful tragic incandescence.
Maria Bieshu is an opera singer ‘blessed by God’, as they say. But no less significant is her chamber-concert activity. In chamber performances Bieshu is attracted to a delicate sense of style, careful work with musical and poetic texts, depth of emotional imagery, and emotional fullness and sincerity. The concert repertoire of the singer is very wide: J.S. Bach and Georg Frideric Handel, Caccini and Gretry, Schumann and Schubert, Franz Liszt and Grieg, Ottorino Respighi and Fauré, Sergei Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Sviridov, old Russian and Moldavian romances, folk songs, and compositions by contemporary Moldavian authors.
Awards
- 1990: Hero of Socialist Labour
- 1982: Lenin PrizeLenin PrizeThe Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
- 1974:USSR State PrizeUSSR State PrizeThe USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
- 1970: People’s Artist of the USSR
Official activities
- She is a professor at the Muzichesku National Musical Academy,
- Chairperson of the Union of Musical Performers of Moldova,
- Vice-president of the International Union of Musical Performers (Moscow),
- Judge at many international and Moldavian competitions,
- Founder and manager of the International Festival of Opera and Ballet (Maria Bieshu Invite) held annually in Kishinev.