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Lucia Popp

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Lucia Popp, born Lucia Poppová, was a Slovak operatic soprano, born in 1939 in Záhorská Ves in what was then Czechoslovakia. Her mother was a soprano, and together they often sang duets at home. She first studied medicine, then drama at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Her voice was discovered when she was given a role in Le Bourgeois gentilhomme in which she had to sing. She began as a mezzo-soprano, but her voice acquired a high register, and she began singing as a soubrette, later as a light and lyric coloratura soprano. Her discography includes Die Zauberflöte from 1964, Carmina Burana from 1966, Die lustige Witwe from 1968 and Die Fledermaus from 1976.

Music and breakthrough

In the 1970s she moved from coloratura roles to lyric ones. In the 1980s, as her voice matured, she took on heavier parts, such as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Strauss's Arabella and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier. She performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden and La Scala. She also appeared in films, including Jánošík in 1963.

Influence

Popp died in Munich in 1993 of brain cancer, at the age of fifty-four. In 2007 she was ranked seventh in BBC Music Magazine's list of the twenty greatest sopranos of all time. Her clear, warm voice showed how a single singer can grow from light to heavy roles.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to an aria sung by Lucia Popp from Die Zauberflöte and notice how pure the high notes sound. Can you hear how light and yet powerful her voice is?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists