Maria Bieșu (3 August 1935 – 16 May 2012) was a

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

n opera singer. Debuting in 1961, she eventually went on to become the lead vocalist of the Moldova National Opera Ballet. Her artistic excellence brought her international recognition and invitations to sing in other countries, like Japan and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where she performed at the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

Opera from 1965 to 1967.

Biography

Maria Bieșu was born in Volintiri, into a peasant family where everyone loved to sing. Her parents were Luca and Tatiana Bieșu. While studying in school, and then at the agricultural technical college, Maria began to perform at amateur concerts. The teachers at the Chișinău Conservatory and the Minister of Culture himself, after hearing Maria sing, sent her to study at the conservatory in 1955. She debuted as a soloist in the country's popular orchestra of

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 Centra ...

n folk music – "Fluieraş" with the song "Struguraş de pe colină" at a national competition alongside the famous Tamara Ciobanu and Sergei Lunchevici. Bieșu was attracted to the opera stage, and after finishing the conservatory in 1961 she joined the troupe of the Moldova National Opera Ballet, and debuted in Tosca. In a short period she prepared the roles of Tatyana in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by A ...

'', Liza in '' The Queen of Spades'', and Cio-Cio-San in ''

Madame 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 Lu ...

''. In 1965, the young singer was sent to the La Scala theatre in Milan, where the vocal teacher and conductor, and assistant to the great Toscanini - Enrico Piazza - became her tutor. During her two-year stay the parts of

Cio-Cio-San ''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 (short story), Madame ...

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 Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dr ...

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 Decemb ...

, and Leonora in ''

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 mo ...

'' were prepared. Her stay in Milan coincided with her participation in major international competitions. In 1966 she became a prize-winner at the Third International Tchaikovsky Competition, and in 1967 in Tokyo she won first prize and honorary Gold Cup prize, and won the title Best Cio-Cio-San in the World at the First International Competition in Memory of

Miura Tamaki , was a Japanese opera singer who performed as Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's ''Madama Butterfly''. Early life Miura was born the first daughter of Shibata Mōho and Shibata Towa () on February 22, 1884 in Tokyo, Japan. Shibata, a music lover had ...

. After Maria Bieșu's success at the Tokyo competition, her name gained widespread recognition. She played the roles of Cio-Cio-San, Aida, Leonora, Tosca, Tatyana and Liza on the stages of many theatres in Europe. In 1971 the Moldovan soprano was invited to New York's Metropolitan Opera to play the part of Nedda in Leoncavallo's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who ...

''. After playing this part she was offered a year-long contract for performing at the Metropolitan Opera. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote about this show: "Maria Bieșu is a charming and talented actress. She has a very beautiful and plastic voice. The singer carries herself surprisingly naturally on stage." She was equally successful with lyrical parts (those such as Jolanta, Mimi), dramatic-passionate parts (such as Santuzza, Nedda,

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...

, Tosca) and bright-masterly parts (Leonora). There are more than thirty diverse roles in Bieșu's operatic record. To those previously mentioned are added Verdi's heroines – Leonora (''

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, ...

''), Elisabeth (''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

''), Abigaille (''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, " Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal tra ...

''), Amelia (''

Un Ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. Th ...

''), and also

in Puccini's opera, Adriana (''

Adriana Lecouvreur ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' () is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play '' Adrienne Lecouvreur'' by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. It was first performed on 6 November 1902 ...

'' by Cilea), Nastasya (in

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

's '' The Enchantress''). Maria Bieșu was also known for her chamber-concert activity. ''In chamber performances Bieșu is attracted to a delicate sense of style, careful work with musical and poetic texts, depth of emotional imagery, and emotional fullness and sincerity.'' Her concert repertoire was very wide, ranging from,

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

and George Frideric Handel to

Caccini Caccini is the name of several composers and artists from Florence: * Giulio Caccini (1551–1618), Florentine composer, significant innovator of the early Baroque era * Francesca Caccini Francesca Caccini (; 18 September 1587 – after 1641) w ...

and Grétry to

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and from

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

and Grieg to

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. His compositions range over operas, ballets, orchestral suit ...

and Fauré,

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

and Tchaikovsky to

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

and Sviridov, all the way to old Russian and Moldavian romances, folk songs, and compositions by contemporary Moldovan authors. In 1986, Maria Bieșu recorded the role of

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy * Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Laz ...

in Bellini's opera for the Russian company

Melodiya Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...

, with Ludmilla Nam as Adalgisa, Gegham Grigoryan as Pollione, and Mark Ermler conducting the Bolshoi Opera Orchestra. The recording was issued on CD by Melodiya (MCD 160C), one of her greatest achievements.

Awards

*1970:

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

*1974:

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

*1982: Lenin Prize *1990: Hero of Socialist Labour *1992: Order of the Republic of MoldovaAbout Maria Biesu
at allmoldova.com *2000:

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five ...

Official activities

*Professor at the G. Musicescu Academy of Music of Moldova *President of the Union of Musicians of Moldova (1987)Maria Biesu would have turned 78
at trm.md *Vice-president of the World Union of Musicians of Moscow (1992) *Founder and president of the International Opera and Ballet Festival "Maria Bieșu Invites" held annually in Chișinău *Judge at many international and Moldovan competitions *President of honor of the Women's Association of Moldova

References

External links

Maria Bieshu at Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biesu, Maria 1935 births 2012 deaths People from Ștefan Vodă District Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Seventh convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Eighth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Ninth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Tenth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Moldovan opera singers 20th-century Moldovan women singers 20th-century women opera singers People's Artists of the USSR People's Artists of the Moldavian SSR Honoured Artists of the Moldavian SSR Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Moldavian SSR State Prize Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Deaths from leukemia