The greatest Greek gift since Callas
OperaAgnes Baltsa, who turned 80 this week,was snapoped up by Karajan for Vienna and Salzburg at the age of 25. She became the foremost Carmen of her time, but she learned very quickly to manage her own time and avoid getting typecast or railroaded in ways that would damage her glorious mezzo-soprano voice.
She married the German bass Günter Missenhardt in 1974 and kept her personal life strictly private. She was never going to repeat the Callas shipwreck and her voice remained in fine shape well into her 70s. Here are a few of my favourite tracks
Many happy returns, Agnes.
Indeed! Agnes was the leading mezzo of her generation and belongs in the Pantheon of the greatest singers of all time. Once seen, she was never forgotten as she was a visceral and exciting actress with a vibrant voice of great range evenly produced during her prime. Apart from her definitive Carmen which she took all over the world, she was an exemplary Mozartian (Cherubino, Dorabella, Sesto), bel cantist (Romeo, Adalgisa, Rosina, Angelina, Isabella, Elisabetta, Leonora), Verdian (Eboli, Requiem), Straussian (Komposonist, Octavian, Herodias, Klytemnestra, Orlofsky), falcon (Dido, Charlotte, Therese, Herodiade, Fides, Giulietta) and verista (Santuzza, Laura). She performed with all the leading conductors of her time and left a distinguished discography. Wishing her many happy years!
We see her occasionally at events in Athens. She is revered here as a national treasure. What a great lady!
Agnes Baltsa has great recordings. Her voice has accompanied me since childhood and gave me – and now gives my children – many moments of joy. Mazal Tov and all the best.
The Met “Carmen” with Baltsa, Ramey, Carreras and lavish Zeffirelli sets was how Grand Opera should be done. We shall never see the likes of it again under the Gelb regime.
Stunning voice – one that you could always instantly recognize. Happy Birthday!
Exactly, how many opera singers today whose voices you can ‘instantly recognize’? 99% all sound the same!
Very nostalgic!
Thank you, Ms Baltsa!
These are songs in my mother tongue that my motherland also taught me even from far away.
I sing your praises!
A wonderful Carmen in the 70s at CG with Jose Carreras and Mark Ermler conducting
One of my favourite albums.
Her Octavian at the Royal Opera under Solti with Te Kanawa and Bonney in 1984 was superb and the only performance to convince me the character was a boy. Sadly she was replaced by Anne Howells for the video recording (Karajan had contracted exclusivity for his Salzburg production)
…and the most unpleasant artist to work with in a stage rehearsal…
I absolutely can’t confirm this. Having worked with Agnes for years in many productions, especially at the Vienna Opera, I have known her as a disciplined, kind, and serious artist. She was always polite and helped younger colleagues.
Fabio, you were the conductor and Fabio Luisi to boot. I’m surely not alone in claiming another perspective.
It’s fully possible she would behave differently in a major house, feeling at home, among familiar people. The experience I refer to (in a smaller theater, where she’d never sung before) was confirmed to us by the soprano, who had confronted similar behavior from AB in a previous production.
I’ll try reiterating my original, unaccepted post, that she was a great singer but a … in the … to work with.
L’italiana in Algeri with Baltsa, Raimondi and Lopardo. Live from the Vienna Opera. A gem.