Sara María Ivonne Haza del Castillo (25 December 1938 – 16 June 2022) was an operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

from the Dominican Republic. In a career of more than 50 years, she appeared at the National Theatre, and also in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba. She also worked as a voice teacher, director of the National Opera, and speech therapist. She received honours from her home country and Italy, and an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo

Early life

Ivonne Haza was born in Angelina, a batey of a

sugarcane mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw or white sugar. The term is also used to refer to the equipment that crushes the sticks of sugar cane to extract the juice. Processing There are a number of steps in pro ...

in the San Pedro de Macorís Province on 25 December 1938. Her parents were Luis Felipe Haza González, a Cuban immigrant from

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

, and Rita Indiana del Castillo y Rodríguez-Objío. Rita was a granddaugther of

Manuel Rodríguez Objío Brigadier General Manuel Nemesio Rodríguez Objío (Santo Domingo, 19 December 1838 – '' ibidem'', 18 April 1871) was a poet, newspaper founder, historian, army general, politician, martyr, and National Hero of the Dominican Republic. Early ...

Career

Haza studied in the Conservatoire of Santo Domingo and debuted on 13 March 1958 as a singer, performing at the Instituto de Señoritas Salomé Ureña, arias from Handel's Messiah, in a chamber concert celebrated in the presence of

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

. In 1961 she studied at the

Conservatorio Santa Cecilia The Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia is a state conservatory in Rome. History The institution has its roots dated back to the Congregazione de' musici di Roma named after Saint Cecilia in 1565 (now Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia). Sinc ...

in Rome with Elena D'Ambrossio, Inés Alfani-Tellini and Roberto Caggiano. She performed there in Paisiello's ''Il duelo''. Haza’s repertoire covers all the genres of vocal music, including opera, operetta, works with orchestra and songs. With the National Symphonic Orchestra of the Dominican Republic she collaborated with Dominican conductors , Carlos Piantini,

Rafael Villanueva Rafael Villanueva (1947–1995)eltrend
(Spanish) retrieved 13 December 2010 was a José Antonio Molina José Antonio Molina Miniño (born June 4, 1960 in Santo Domingo) is a Dominican conductor, pianist and composer. Early life and education Molina studied piano at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música with Vicente Grisolía. In 1980, he moved t ...

, and with guest directors such as Roberto Caggiano, Carlos Chávez, Enrique García Asencio, Paul Engel and Robert Carter Austin. Among her notable colleagues were Olga Azar, , Luís Rivera, Roberto Caggiano, Lilliam Columna, , Luis Cold Sandoval, Rafael Félix Gimbernard, Rafael Sánchez Cestero, Rafael Félix, , Dagmar White, Creole Hidalgo, Fausto Cepeda, Luis Cold, Rafael Gil Castro, Vito Castorina, and Enriquillo Cerón. Haza sang works by

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

, Lukas Foss, José of Jesús Ravelo, Leo Brouwer and Enrique of Marchena, among others. She played leading roles in operas such as Mascagni's '' Cavalleria rusticana'', Leoncavallo's '' Los Payasos'', and

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

s including Torroba's '' Luisa Fernanda'', ', and '. Outside of the Dominican Republic, she performed in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba. She participated with pianist

Manuel Rueda Manuel Rueda García (born 2 January 1980 in San Fernando, Cádiz, Andalusia) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to s ...

in the Latin Festival-American of the Arts. In 1988, she participated in the Festival Cervantino in Mexico and the Dominican Republic with the pianist María of Fátima Geraldes. That same year she recorded the CDs ''Entrega'' (Delivery), ''Joyas de Navidad'' (Joy of Christmas) and ''Sueños'' (Dreams). On the occasion of her 50th anniversary as a singer, a concert was staged at the National Theatre, conducted by . Additionally, Haza taught during many years in the National Conservatoire of Music, and was artistic director of the National Theatre for five years. She also directed the Lyric Singers of Fine Arts. She also worked as a speech therapist. A book about Haza and her career, ''Ivonne Haza: la diva dominicana'' (The Dominican diva), was published in 2011, presented in a ceremony by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic which published it. Haza was awarded the Order of the Dominicos of Duarte of Sánchez and Mella of the Dominican Republic and the

Order of Merit of Italy The Italian honours system is a means to reward achievements or service to the Italian Republic, formerly the Kingdom of Italy including the Italian Social Republic. Orders of chivalry Italian Republic There are five orders of knighthood ...

. She received an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Personal life

Haza was married to the architect Víctor Bisonó Pichardo (1933–2017); the couple had four children: Vilma Rebeca; Víctor, who became minister of industry and commerce; Marcos; and Rita Ivonne Bisonó Haza. She was aunt of journalist

Óscar Haza Oscar Haza (born December 12, 1951) is a journalist from the Dominican Republic. At the age of 22, Haza moved to Miami to pursue his career in journalism. He is host of the Channel 22 news talk show '' Ahora Con Oscar Haza'' which airs on Mega ...

and grand-aunt of singer Rita Indiana. She was second cousin of banker

Alejandro Grullón Alejandro Enrique Grullón Espaillat ( Santiago de los Caballeros, April 3, 1929 – Casa de Campo, La Romana, December 15, 2020) was a banker and businessman from the Dominican Republic. Biography Grullón Espaillat was born to Manuel Alej ...

as the both of them were great-grandchildren of

and his wife María del Rosario Ravelo. Haza died on 16 June 2022 at age 83.

References

External links

*
Personalidades expresan pesar por muerte de Ivonne Haza del Castillo, madre del ministro Ito Bisonó
n.com 17 June 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Haza, Ivonne 1938 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Dominican Republic women singers Dominican Republic people of Cuban descent People from San Pedro de Macorís Province Sopranos White Dominicans