Natalia Troitskaya
Encyclopedia
Natalia Troitskaya was a Russia
n opera
tic soprano
who had a major international career during the 1980s and early 1990s. She particularly excelled in the operas of Giacomo Puccini
and Giuseppe Verdi
. Among her signature roles were Tatyana in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
's Eugene Onegin
and the title heroines in Verdi's Aida
, Puccini's Manon Lescaut
, and Puccini's Tosca
. She was a frequent partner of Plácido Domingo
during the 1980s and also sang opposite other great artists like Montserrat Caballé
, Dmitri Hvorostovsky
, and Luciano Pavarotti
.
, Troitskaya's father was a professional violinist and her mother was a concert pianist. She studied voice for six years in Moscow
and Belgrade and won singing competitions in Toulouse
, Vercelli
, and Barcelona
. She made her professional opera debut in 1981 as Elisabetta di Valois at the Liceu
, in Don Carlo, with Jaume Aragall in the title role. The same year, she sang at Liceu in the title role of Puccini's Tosca opposite Nunzio Todisco as Mario Cavaradossi and Juan Pons
as Scarpia.
Troitskaya quickly became an important presence on the international opera scene. In 1982 she sang the title role of Verdi's Aida at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie
and the Sferisterio Opera Festival. She then gave several performances in South America in 1982-1983. In 1984 she became a member of the Vienna State Opera
, making her debut with the company that year as Aida. She remained committed to that opera house through 1991 where she was particularly admired for her portraysls of Puccini and Verdi heroines.
While working primarily in Vienna, Troitskaya appeared as a guest artist at the Opéra National de Paris (1985, Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
), the Staatsoper Stuttgart
(1985, Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlos
), the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
(1985, the title role in Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur
), the Arena di Verona Festival
(1985-1986, Aida and Amelia), the Hamburg State Opera
(1986-1988, Amelia, Elisabetta, Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore
, Nedda in Pagliacci
, and the title heroine of Puccini's Manon Lescaut), the Royal Opera, London
(1986, Tosca), the Luxor Temple
(1987, Aida), the Deutsche Oper Berlin
(1988-1989, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
and Tosca), the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos
(1989, Desdemona), the Bavarian State Opera
(1989, Adriana Lecouvreur), the Washington National Opera
(1989, Lisa in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades
, and the Los Angeles Opera
(1990, Elisabetta) among others.
She died in Moscow
in 2006 at the age of 55 after a long bout with serious illness.
under the baton of Charles Mackerras
and as a soloist on a recording of Dmitri Shostakovich
's Symphony No. 13
with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
. Video captured of her performance with Dmitri Hvorostovsky in 1990 was released on VHS and DVD.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who had a major international career during the 1980s and early 1990s. She particularly excelled in the operas of Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
and Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
. Among her signature roles were Tatyana in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
and the title heroines in Verdi's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, Puccini's Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
, and Puccini's Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
. She was a frequent partner of Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
during the 1980s and also sang opposite other great artists like Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi....
, Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky , is a leading baritone opera singer from Russia.Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. He studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekatherina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House, in the role of Marullo in Rigoletto...
, and Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
.
Biography
Born in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Troitskaya's father was a professional violinist and her mother was a concert pianist. She studied voice for six years in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Belgrade and won singing competitions in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, Vercelli
Vercelli
Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...
, and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. She made her professional opera debut in 1981 as Elisabetta di Valois at the Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
, in Don Carlo, with Jaume Aragall in the title role. The same year, she sang at Liceu in the title role of Puccini's Tosca opposite Nunzio Todisco as Mario Cavaradossi and Juan Pons
Juan Pons
Joan Pons Álvarez , is a Spanish dramatic baritone, known internationally as Juan Pons.-Career:With his outstandingly successful international début in 1980 at the Teatro alla Scala of Milan with Falstaff, staged by Giorgio Strehler and conducted by Lorin Maazel, Juan Pons has revealed himself as...
as Scarpia.
Troitskaya quickly became an important presence on the international opera scene. In 1982 she sang the title role of Verdi's Aida at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie
Opéra Royal de Wallonie
The Opéra Royal de Wallonie ' is an opera house in Liège, Belgium, one of four situated in that country.- External links :*...
and the Sferisterio Opera Festival. She then gave several performances in South America in 1982-1983. In 1984 she became a member of the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, making her debut with the company that year as Aida. She remained committed to that opera house through 1991 where she was particularly admired for her portraysls of Puccini and Verdi heroines.
While working primarily in Vienna, Troitskaya appeared as a guest artist at the Opéra National de Paris (1985, Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
), the Staatsoper Stuttgart
Staatsoper Stuttgart
The Staatsoper Stuttgart is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, Germany.-History:The Stuttgart Staatsoper forms part of the Stuttgart State Theatre , which is a a three-branch-theatre complex and represents the largest theatre of its kind in Europe...
(1985, Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
), the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements...
(1985, the title role in Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
), the Arena di Verona Festival
Arena di Verona Festival
The Arena di Verona Festival is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Verona, , and then, following legislation in 1996 and...
(1985-1986, Aida and Amelia), the Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile...
(1986-1988, Amelia, Elisabetta, Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
, Nedda in Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
, and the title heroine of Puccini's Manon Lescaut), the Royal Opera, London
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
(1986, Tosca), the Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor and was founded in 1400 BCE.,...
(1987, Aida), the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
(1988-1989, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
and Tosca), the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos
Teatro Nacional de São Carlos
The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on July 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake...
(1989, Desdemona), the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
(1989, Adriana Lecouvreur), the Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
(1989, Lisa in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades (opera)
The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The premiere took place in 1890 in St...
, and the Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
(1990, Elisabetta) among others.
She died in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 2006 at the age of 55 after a long bout with serious illness.
Recordings
Troitskaya's audio performances included a disc in which she and the Czech Philharmonic perform the work of Josef SukJosef Suk (composer)
Josef Suk was a Czech composer and violinist.- Life :Suk was born in Křečovice. He studied at Prague Conservatory from 1885 to 1892, where he was a pupil of Antonín Dvořák and Antonín Bennewitz. In 1898, he married Dvořák's eldest daughter, Otilie Dvořáková , affectionately known as Otilka...
under the baton of Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
and as a soloist on a recording of Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's Symphony No. 13
Symphony No. 13 (Shostakovich)
The Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor by Dmitri Shostakovich was first performed in Moscow on 18 December, 1962 by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and the basses of the Republican State and Gnessin Institute Choirs, under Kirill Kondrashin . The soloist was Vitali Gromadsky...
with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
. Video captured of her performance with Dmitri Hvorostovsky in 1990 was released on VHS and DVD.