Ramiz Kovaçi (22 March 1929 – 1994) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

. One of the most notable opera singers in his generation, he was the main baritone of the

National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania The National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania (Albanian: ''Teatri Kombëtar i Operas dhe Baletit - TKOB'') is a theatre in Tirana, Albania. It is the largest theatre in the country, and hosts music and dance performances year round. History ...

and a founder of the

Academy of Arts of Albania The University of Arts ( sq, Universiteti i Arteve), formerly known as the Academy of Arts ( sq, Akademia e Arteve) is a public university and the main institution that offers higher education of the arts in Albania. History Founded in 1966 as the ...

. In his last years he performed at the

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

venue of the

Turkish State Opera and Ballet Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

. He was a recipient of the

People's Artist of Albania The People's Artist () was an honorary title for outstanding art performers of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, whose merits were exceptional in the sphere of development of the performing arts (theatre, music, cinema and art). It was c ...

and

Honor of Nation Order The "Honour of the Nation" Decoration ( sq, Dekorata "Nderi i Kombit") is the highest decoration to be given in Albania, among the Civil awards and decorations of Albania, and was instituted by special law No. 8113, of 28 March 1996, entitled ''Pë ...

titles.

Life

Kovaçi was born on 22 March 1929 in

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Kruj ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. He graduated from the Jordan Misja Artistic Lyceum under Mihal Ciko, and later pursued his

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

studies at the Bulgarian State Conservatoire in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

under Professors Hristo Brambarov and Yossifov. He specialized at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Kovaçi became lead baritone of the

in Italian operas by

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 ...

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera ''Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained his ...

, and

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 lin ...

, as well as Albanian operas by Zadeja, Pjetër Gaci, Harapi, and Kono. He is one of the founders of the

. After 1991, Kovaçi worked at the İzmir venue of the

. Kovaçi was consistently in the jury of the Festivali i Këngës, a light music music event, beginning from its second edition in 1963. He had disagreements with composer Çesk Zadeja on which song should be the winner in the 1963 festival (''Flake e Borë'' or the eventual winner ''Djaloshi dhe Shiu''). The dispute was settled with a decision that took into account the intervention of composer Simon Gjoni, another member of the jury, who thought that ''Djaloshi dhe Shiu'' was more of a hit than ''Flake e Borë''.

Personal life

In 1963 he married Nikoleta Lilova, a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

native, and brought her with him to Albania. They had a daughter, who married Edmond Tullumani, father of soprano Ramona Tullumani. Kovaçi died in 1994.

Recognition

Aside from being the recipient of the titles of

, and

, a prize dedicated to Kovaçi's name is provided to the best baritone of the pan-national festival of lyric voices ( sq, Festivalin Mbarëkombëtar të Zërave Lirikë "JorgjiaTruja"), which began to be held in Albania in 2015.

References

External links

Link to free recordings of Ramiz Kovaçi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovaçi, Ramiz 1929 births 1994 deaths People from Krujë 20th-century Albanian male opera singers Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni People's Artists of Albania