RIP Sena Jurinac - soprano

[PJME]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15857569

Opera singer Sena Jurinac, one of the most celebrated sopranos of the post-war period, has died aged 90.

Born in Travnik in Bosnia in October 1921, the Austrian star studied in Zagreb, and made her debut there 1942 as Mimi in La Boheme.

She made very few recordings across her career, although the BBC recently issued a CD of her 1961 Proms show.

The Vienna State Opera, of which she was an honorary member, confirmed the singer had died in southern Germany.

In a statement, it said it was mourning the loss of a "legendary artist who shaped not only the Vienna State Opera but also the entire opera world".

Jurinac first sang for the company in 1944, playing Cherubino in The Marriage Of Figaro, and remained a member until 1983, when she made her farewell as Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier.

She appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1947, and soon after made her London debut, singing Dorabella at Covent Garden.

Jurinac went on to become a favourite at Glyndebourne, and was renowned for her interpretation of Mozart.

Scholar Peter Branscombe described her voice as "beautifully pure, rich and even throughout its range".

Austrian news agency APA reported that Jurinac died Tuesday at her home near Augsburg.

[Marc]

Figueras, Jurinac .... what a sad week for celebrated soprano's.

I loved Jurinac's Donna Elvira.

May she rest in peace.

[stenka razin]

Jurinac had one of the most beautiful and recognizable voices I have ever heard. She was one of the greatest Mozart and R. Strauss singers of the 20th century. May she rest in peace. A sad day for all of us.


Regards,
Mel

[stenka razin]

I am so saddend by Ms. Jurinac's passing. Here is a great tribute from EMI. Please watch and listen, my fellow CMGers.


Regards,
Mel

[josé echenique]

I can´t say I was a big fan of Montserrat Figueras, but I certainly was of the great Sena Jurinac, an adorable singer. I will play her superb live recording of Strauss´s 4 Last Songs with Fritz Busch.
May she rest in peace.

[Lance]

Very sorry to learn of Jurinac's passing. Happily I enjoy whatever she recorded and she should have been in the studio more.

[John F]

A fuller obituary is in The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/no ... c-obituary

Not just a great artist, but a specially treasurable one. Her recordings don't really capture everything that made her special - you had to see her. Fortunately her Octavian was filmed in the Salzburg Festival "Rosenkavalier" under Karajan, but this intensely feminine singer-actor was even more compelling as the Marschallin, and I was fortunate enough to see her also as Donna Anna, Cio-Cio-San, and Desdemona. Not at the Met - she never sang there, for some reason or no reason - though she did sing, in one opera each, in Chicago and San Francisco. It's nearly 30 years since she last sang, and over 40 since I last saw her, but she's still in my mind's eye, and her passing saddens me.

[barney]

A fuller obituary is in The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/no ... c-obituary

Not just a great artist, but a specially treasurable one. Her recordings don't really capture everything that made her special - you had to see her. Fortunately her Octavian was filmed in the Salzburg Festival "Rosenkavalier" under Karajan, but this intensely feminine singer-actor was even more compelling as the Marschallin, and I was fortunate enough to see her also as Donna Anna, Cio-Cio-San, and Desdemona. Not at the Met - she never sang there, for some reason or no reason - though she did sing, in one opera each, in Chicago and San Francisco. It's nearly 30 years since she last sang, and over 40 since I last saw her, but she's still in my mind's eye, and her passing saddens me.

You're a lucky dog. I only have her on CD, and I agree that she was simply stunning, so pure and lovely and musical.