Ewa Podleś, Poland’s leading contralto singer, died on January 19 in Warsaw; she was 71. Highly acclaimed for her operas by Handel and Rossini, she was known internationally not only for her operas, but also for her numerous performances of songs, oratorios, and symphonies.
She was born in Warsaw, studied at the Chopin Academy of Music, and made her debut as Dorabella in Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” at the Warsaw Grand Theater in 1975 while still a student there. She later won third prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978, as well as prizes in singing competitions in Toulouse and Barcelona, attracting international attention.
In 1984, she became a member of the Grand Théâtre, where she performed Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” and “Cenerentola” and Bizet’s “Carmen” with great success. She also made her debut that year as Rosina at the Festival de Aix-en-Provence in France and the title role in Handel’s “Rinaldo” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Since then, she has refined her outstanding coloratura singing and has built an international career, appearing in many prominent opera houses and with orchestras around the world, while focusing on works by Handel and Rossini in her repertoire. In 1993, she made her debut at La Scala in Milan singing the title role in Rossini’s “Tancredi.
In 2008/2009 season she returned to the Metropolitan Opera after a 25-year absence, singing the role of Checa in Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda. In 2012, she also appeared in “Ciro in Babilonia” at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy, the composer’s hometown.
PHOTO：Andrzej Swietlik
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