Teresa Żylis-Gara

Born in Landwarów, Poland on January 23, 1930, Teresa Żylis-Gara was an operatic soprano who became an international sensation and achieved great success beginning with her professional debut in 1956. She trained as a soprano at the Lodz Conservatory for nine years before winning the Warsaw Singing Competition in 1954. This success led to performance on the radio and, finally, her stage debut at the Krakow Opera in 1956 in the title role of Moniuszko's Halka.Her earliest recordings included Chopin's Polish-language songs and songs composed by Karol Szymanowski. After achieving third prize at the ARD International Music Competition in 1960, she became an ensemble member and soloist at the Oberhausen, Dortmund (1962) and Düsseldorf (1965-1970) operas. She achieved international recognition in 1965 when she appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival as the title role in Der Rosenkavalier, alongside opera superstar Montserrat Caballé. Beginning in 1970, she was a long-time member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where she appeared in leading roles including Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, and Puccini's La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and Manon Lescaut. She was awarded honorary doctorates, the Order of Polonia Restituta, the French Legion of Honor, and a sculpture in a public Polish park. Her extensive catalog includes titles such as Mahler: Das Klagende Lied (1967), Slavic Opera Arias (1971), Massenet: Manon (1973), L'art de Teresa Żylis-Gara (1985), The Gala Concert (1989), and Kolędy Gwiazd Polskich (1992). Teresa Żylis-Gara died on August 28, 2021, at the age of 91.

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