Marina de Gabaráin (191713 June 1972) was a Spanish
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
. Her international career began at
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...
in 1952, where she appeared in Rossini's ''
La Cenerentola
' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' ...
'' as Angelina (Cinderella), which became her signature role.
Life
Born in
San Sebastián
San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
(Donostia) in 1917, Gabaráin initially trained in Italy with Giuseppe Pais,
[Joaquín Martín de Sagarmínaga, ''Diccionario de cantantes líricos españoles'', Acento Editorial, 1997, p. 151] who also taught
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. O ...
. Continuing her studies with and
Pierre Bernac
Pierre Louis Bernac (né Bertin; 12 January 1899 – 17 October 1979) was a French singer, a baryton-martin, known as an interpreter of the French mélodie. He had a close artistic association with Francis Poulenc, with whom he performed i ...
in Paris,
her final training was with
Elena Gerhardt
Elena Gerhardt (11 November 1883 – 11 January 1961) was a German mezzo-soprano singer associated with the singing of German classical lieder, of which she was considered one of the great interpreters. She left Germany for good to live in London ...
in London,
under whom she graduated from the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in 1950.
Her first professional work was for
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
, broadcasting Spanish and Hispano-American songs. Her stage debut was in the title role of Bizet's ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'', during
Carl Rosa Opera
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiered ...
's Scottish 1949 tour.
She achieved international recognition when she appeared in the title role of Angelina in Rossini's ''
La Cenerentola
' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' ...
'' at the 1952
Glyndebourne Festival
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.
History
Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, ...
,
[Gabarain Marina de / mezzosoprano](_blank)
(in German) operissimo.com conducted by
Vittorio Gui
Vittorio Gui (14 September 188516 October 1975) was an Italian conductor, composer, musicologist and critic.
Gui was born in Rome in 1885. He graduated in humanities at the University of Rome and also studied composition at the Accademia Naziona ...
. She repeated her success the following year, when the production was recorded for
LP by
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
,
and in 1954, when the production was also seen on tour at the
Städtische Oper in Berlin. The production was last staged at the
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...
in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in 1956.
Further Glyndebourne roles included Baba the Turk in Stravinsky's ''
The Rake's Progress
''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings ''A Rake's Progres ...
''
in the opera's British premiere, conducted by
Paul Sacher
Paul Sacher (28 April 190626 May 1999) was a Swiss conductor, patron and billionaire businessperson. At the time of his death Sacher was majority shareholder of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and was considered the third richest person i ...
; and Preziosilla in the company's 1955 production of Verdi's ''
La forza del destino
' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...
'' at the Edinburgh Festival, conducted by
John Pritchard.
She became a regular singer at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
, where her roles included Carmen, Rosina in Rossini's ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia
''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 ...
'' and Azucena in Verdi's ''
Il trovatore
''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...
''.
At the
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu (, English: Great Theatre of the Lyceum), known as ''El Liceu'', is an opera house in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Located in La Rambla, it is the oldest running theatre in Barcelona.
Founded in 1837 at another loca ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, she first appeared in 1954 as Angelina, repeating her signature role the following year in
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
. In 1956 she first appeared at the
Teatro Colón
The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...
in Buenos Aires in the world premiere of
Juan José Castro
Juan José Castro (March 7, 1895September 3, 1968) was an Argentine composer and conductor.
Born in Avellaneda, Castro studied piano and violin under Manuel Posadas and composition under Eduardo Fornarini, in Buenos Aires. In the 1920s he was a ...
's opera ''Bodas de Sangre''. The theatre became her main base of operations in the following years, where she added Marfa in Mussorgsky's ''
Khovanshchina
''Khovanshchina'' ( rus, Хованщина, , xɐˈvanʲɕːɪnə, Ru-Khovanshchina_version.ogg, sometimes rendered ''The Khovansky Affair'') is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was writte ...
'', Isabella in Rossini's ''
L'italiana in Algeri
''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...
'', Orfeo in Gluck's ''
Orfeo ed Euridice
' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...
'' and Santuzza in Mascagni's ''
Cavalleria rusticana
''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...
'' to her repertoire.
She appeared at the
Grand Théâtre of Geneva,
La Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...
in Brussels,
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
in Venice and the
Opera di Roma, as well as concert appearances in Spanish repertoire under conductors including
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...
,
Ataúlfo Argenta
Ataúlfo Exuperio Martín de Argenta Maza (19 November 1913 – 20 January 1958) was a Spanish conductor and pianist.
Biography
Argenta was born in Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, one of the two children, and the only son, of the local stati ...
and
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...
.
After her marriage (1959) to the Italian industrialist Giancarlo Villa, and the birth of their daughter Beatriz in 1961, her career took second place in her life
– although she did achieve a major success in Pretoria during 1964, with performances as Azucena, Carmen, and Amneris in Verdi's ''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
''. She also maintained a fruitful musical partnership with the guitarist
Julian Bream
Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public per ...
, with whom she regularly performed in Spanish voice-guitar recitals. In 1968 she showed the first signs of the serious illness which was to cause her definitive retirement, and her death in 1972 while undergoing treatment in Paris.
Vocal style
Although famed for its agility, her dark mezzo-soprano was heavier than that style usually associated with the Rossini repertoire in which she achieved her earlier successes. Her range (Middle C to High D) was wide and true, her lower register rich in colour – although for some critics her voice tended to become hard and occasionally strained in its upper registers, and others felt that her talents were better-suited to the stage than to the recording studio.
[from Eric Blom, ''Music & Letters'', Vol.30, issue ii (review of ''La Cenerentola'', Glyndebourne)] Nevertheless, her small legacy of commercial recordings (supplemented by many off-air performances) assures her a significant place amongst the finest 20th-century operatic mezzo-sopranos.
Recordings
Gabaráin's recordings include:
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabaráin, Marina de
1917 births
1972 deaths
Spanish mezzo-sopranos
People from San Sebastián
20th-century Spanish women opera singers