Magda Ianculescu (30 March 1929 – 16 March 1995) was a Romanian 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 ...

and voice teacher. A leading singer in the Romanian National Opera for many years, she was known for her musicality and vocal technique. Her voice had a wide

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

and a

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...

which critics compared to that of

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

Maftei (2004)

Biography

Magda Ianculescu was born in Iaşi, a city in the

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

region of Romania, and was educated at the Oltea Doamna secondary school there before entering the Bucharest Conservatory of Dramatic Art in 1947. While in the final years of her studies at the conservatory, she became a member of the Romanian National Opera company in Bucharest. She made her stage debut as Rosina in Rossini's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'', which became one of her signature roles. Between 1953 and 1955 she won singing competitions in Bucharest, Prague ( Prague International Singing Competition 1954), and Warsaw and went on to perform not only in her native Romania but also in Belgium, Italy, France, Poland, the USSR,

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, and other Eastern European countries. Her repertoire included more than 35 principal roles, ranging from Viennese

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

to contemporary Romanian opera and included Yaroslavna in Borodin's

Prince Igor ''Prince Igor'' ( rus, Князь Игорь, Knyáz Ígor ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the Ancient Russian epic '' The Lay of Igor's Host'', which re ...

, Norina in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's ...

'', Violetta in ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', Donna Elvira in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'', Blondchen in ''

The Abduction from the Seraglio ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and Susanna in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

''.For a more complete list of her roles see Biblioteca Nationala a Republicii Moldova. ''Calendar Național March 2004''. p. 113. She also made many recordings for Romanian National Radio and the

Electrecord Electrecord is a Romanian record label which was founded in 1932. It was subsequently transformed into the national recording company following the socialist doctrine of centralization and was the only record label in Communist Romania. History ...

record company. Ianculescu retired from the stage in 1970 and from 1969 to 1977 was a professor at the Bucharest Conservatory of Dramatic Art where she trained many Romanian singers, including

Elena Gaja Elena Gaja (born 26 October 1946 in Braşov, Romania) is a Romanian mezzo-soprano opera singer. She graduated from the Ciprian Porumbescu Music Academy in Bucharest where she studied under Magda Ianculescu. In December 1982, she won joint fi ...

. She died in Bucharest shortly before her 66th birthday.

Notes and references

Sources

*Biblioteca Nationala a Republicii Moldova
Calendar Național March 2004
pp. 112–113 *Hope-Wallace, Philip (1958
"Review: ''Operatic Arias''"
(

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

LPV 243). ''

Gramophone Magazine ''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ac ...

'', June 1958, p. 68 *Maftei, Ionel (2004)
"O voce de neuitat – Soprana Magda Ianculescu"
("An unforgettable voice – soprano Magda Ianculescu"). '' Evenimentul'', March 31, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ianculescu, Magda 1929 births 1995 deaths Romanian operatic sopranos 20th-century Romanian women opera singers Musicians from Iași National University of Music Bucharest alumni