We regret to inform our readers that Ewa Podleś, the great Polish opera singer, passed away on January 19, 2024 at the age of 71. Possessing a beautiful and rare true contralto voice with a range of three-plus octaves, Ewa Podleś sang in the most prestigious houses around the world—Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Bellini, La Fenice, Seattle Opera, San Diego Opera, Dallas Opera, Teatro San Carlo, Opera Bastille in Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, the Metropolitan Opera (MET) in New York City and the National Opera in Warsaw.
Ewa Podleś was a prize-winner of the 7th Pyotr Tschaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, and received prizes at vocal competitions in Athens, Barcelona, Geneva, Rio de Janeiro, and Toulouse, among others. In 1984 she was cast in Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel at the MET in New York City. In 1993 she performed the title role in Gioachino Rossini’s Tancredi presented by Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. In 2008, she returned to the MET in the role of La Cieca in Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Giaconda.
Classic FM Magazine recognized Ewa Podleś as one of 10 best mezzo-sopranos in the first half of the XXI century. To read her New York Times obituary, visit www.nytimes.com.
[Source: filharmonia.pl]