Vera Janacópulos (20 December 1886 or 1892 – 5 December 1955) was a Brazilian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical 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 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

singer, popular in the first half of the 20th century.

Life and career

Vera Janacópulos was born in

Petrópolis Petrópolis (), also known as the Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 Brazilian census, Petrópolis mun ...

, in a family of Greek descent. She was niece of the politician . After the death of her mother, Vera was taken to Paris with her sister Adriana, who became a sculptor. In Paris, Janacópulos studied violin with Romanian composer

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

, but stopped playing it to dedicate herself to singing. In 1914, Janacópulos performed for the first time in a singing recital, along with Madalena Tagliaferro. The soprano has had a successful career performing in several countries in Europe (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland), North America (United States) and South America (Argentina and Brazil) and Asia (

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and

Celebes Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archi ...

). She performed works by

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

(with whom she adapted his opera ''

The Love for Three Oranges ', Op. 33, is a 1921 satirical French-language opera by Sergei Prokofiev. He wrote his own libretto, basing it on the Italian play '' L'amore delle tre melarance'', or ''The Love for Three Oranges'' ( ''Lyubov k tryom apyelsinam'') by Carlo Goz ...

''),

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...

and

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has globally bec ...

, helping to disseminate the work of the Brazilian composer abroad. Janacópulos returned to Brazil in 1940, establishing herself in São Paulo, where she presented a classical music program for for eight years. She was also a singing teacher, where she lectured at the

University of São Paulo The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil. The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...

's Escola de Arte Dramática (School of Dramatic Arts).

Death

Janacópulos died in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, on 5 December 1955.

Homages

A bust of the singer was sculpted by her sister Adriana, in 1958. The sculpture is located at Paris Square in Rio de Janeiro. Janacópulos' archives are collected in the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro Center of Language and Arts library; an auditorium at the institution is also named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janacopulos, Vera Brazilian sopranos Brazilian people of Greek descent 1955 deaths People from Petrópolis 1892 births 20th-century Brazilian women singers 20th-century Brazilian singers