Núria Espert Romero (born 11 June 1935 in

L'Hospitalet de Llobregat L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (; es, Hospitalet de Llobregat), often shortened to L'Hospitalet or just L'H, is a municipality of Spain, located to the immediate southwest of Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is part of the Bar ...

, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish theatre and television actor, and theatre and opera director. When she was 19 years old, she married the actor

Armando Moreno Armando may refer to: * Armando (given name) * Armando (artist) (1929–2018), the name used by Dutch artist Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd * Armando (producer) Armando Gallop (sometimes written as Armando Gallup) (February 12, 1970 – December 17, ...

, who would later become her manager. Teatro Nuria Espert

As a tribute to this actor, the city of Fuenlabrada named a theatre "Sala Municipal de Teatro Núria Espert".

Professional trajectory

Núria Espert studied high school at the Maragall Institute 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 ...

and later completed her studies with music and

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

s. At only sixteen years of age, she began to work in amateur theatre and in the 1950s she had the opportunity to perform, in her native Barcelona, great classics such as La vida es sueño (Life is a Dream) (1950) and El jardinero de Falerina (The Gardener of Falerina) (1953), by Calderón de la Barca; Los empeños de una casa (1952), by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; or

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

(1953), by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, adapted into Catalan by Josep Maria de Sagarra. In this language she interpreted numerous works, such as El marit vé de visita (1951). Her big break came in 1954, when she replaced actor Elvira Noriega in ''Medea''. The triumph she achieved through her performance at the

Teatre Grec The Festival Grec de Barcelona (or Grec Festival of Barcelona) is an international theatre, dance, music and circus festival. Over the course of its history, this long-standing event has become a major summer attraction in Barcelona, Catalonia, ...

in Barcelona was decisive for her to dedicate herself to acting in a professional manner. During the following years, and as part of the Lope de Vega Company directed by José Tamayo, she consolidated her position as one of the figures on the Catalan and Spanish scenes. In this line, she obtained success in plays like El caballero de Olmedo (1954), by Lope de Vega; La muralla (1955), by Joaquín Calvo Sotelo; Julio César (1955), by William Shakespeare, together with Mary Carrillo; Las brujas de Salem (1957), by Arthur Miller; or; Don Juan Tenorio (1958), by Zorrilla, together with Luis Prendes. In 1959, she created her own theater company and, shortly after, she premiered Gigí at the Recoletos Theater in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and Eugene O'Neill's play, Anna Christie.

Prizes

*1984

Premio Nacional de Teatro The National Theater Award ( es, Premio Nacional de Teatro, links=no) is a cultural prize that is awarded annually by the Spanish Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Al ...

*2016

Premio Princesa de Asturias The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

de las Artes

Filmography

*1954: ''

Once pares de botas ''Eleven Pairs of Boots'' (Spanish: ''Once pares de botas'') is a 1954 Spanish comedy sports film directed by Francisco Rovira Beleta and starring José Suárez, Mari Carmen Pardo and Elisa Montés.Bentley p.128 Plot Laura, the daughter of th ...

'' *1958: ''La tirana'' *1961: '' A las cinco de la tarde'' *1971: '' Viva la muerte'' *1976: ''

La ciutat cremada ''La ciutat cremada'' (''The Burned City''; Spanish title: ''La ciudad quemada'') is a 1976 Spanish historical film directed by Antoni Ribas.http://spanish_cinema.enacademic.com/46/Catalan_cinema Cast Plot The story takes place in Barcelona f ...

'' *1991: ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...

'' *1996: ''actors'' *2003: ''Soneto'' *2007: ''Barcelona (un mapa)''

Theatre

*1969: '' The Maids'' *1973: ''

Yerma ''Yerma'' is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1934 and first performed that same year. García Lorca describes the play as "a tragic poem." The play tells the story of a childless woman living in rural S ...

'' *1981: ''

Doña Rosita la soltera Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...

'' *1981: ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

'' *1983: '' The Tempest'' *1985: ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

'' *1990: ''Maquillaje'' *1998: ''Master Class'' *1999: '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' *2003: ''

La Celestina ''The Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea'' ( es, Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea), known in Spain as ''La Celestina'' is a work entirely in dialogue published in 1499. It is attributed to Fernando de Rojas, a descendant of converted Jews, w ...

'' *2006: ''Play Strindberg'' *2007: ''Hay que purgar a Totó'' *2009: ''La casa de Bernarda Alba''

Opera

* 1987: ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

. * 1988: '' Rigoletto''

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

. * 1988: '' Elektra''

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

. * 1989: ''

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 ...

'' Giuseppe Verdi. * 1991: ''

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 ...

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

. * 1995: '' Stiffelio'' Giuseppe Verdi. * 1999: '' Turandot'' Giacomo Puccini. * 2004: ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' Giacomo Puccini. * 2012: '' Ainadamar'' Osvaldo Golijov.

References

External links

* 1935 births Living people Stage actresses from Catalonia Catalan film actors Women theatre directors 20th-century Spanish actresses 21st-century Spanish actresses Actresses from Catalonia {{theat-bio-stub