Zdzisława Donat-Pajda (born 4 July 1936, in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

) is a Polish

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

. She studied in Warsaw and Siena, where she was a pupil of

Gino Bechi Gino Bechi (16 October 1913 – 2 February 1993) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles. Life and career Bechi studied in his native Florence with Raul Frazzi and di Gior ...

. In 1964, Donat debuted in Poznań, as Gilda in ''Rigoletto'', and later appeared in many international opera houses, including those in Toulouse, Helsinki, Warsaw, Moscow, Munich, Buenos Aires, Milan (the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, where she sang in ''L'enfant et les sortilèges'', 1975), Rome, Prague, Naples, Brussels, Vienna (from 1974 to 1979, in ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' and the Queen of Night in ''Die Zauberflöte''), Salzburg, Berlin, Hamburg, London (the Queen of Night at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, from 1979 to 1983), Paris, Verona ("Opera for Africa," 1985), Orange, and Japan. Donat made her American debut in 1975, at the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when he ...

, as the Queen of Night, opposite

Alan Titus Alan Titus (born in New York City, on October 28, 1945) is an internationally celebrated baritone. Life and career Titus studied under Aksel Schiøtz at the Colorado School of Music, and Hans Heinz at The Juilliard School. His official debut w ...

and Dame

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

. In 1981, she debuted at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

in the same role. She returned in 1987, for Constanze in ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', in

John Dexter John Dexter (2 August 1925 – 23 March 1990) was an English theatre, opera and film director. Theatre Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British Army during the Second World War. F ...

's production. In 1980, she recorded, for

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, her Queen of Night, with

Ileana Cotrubaș Ileana Cotrubaș (; born 9 June 1939) is a Romanian operatic soprano whose career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was much admired for her acting skills and facility for singing opera in many different languages. Life and career Cotruba ...

, Éric Tappy,

Christian Boesch Christian Boesch (born 27 July 1941) is an Austrian operatic baritone. He is the son of the soprano Ruthilde Boesch, and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, from 1959 to 1964. He was the pupil of Alfred Jerger, and made ...

José van Dam Joseph, Baron Van Damme (born 27 August 1940 in Brussels), known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone. At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplo ...

, and

Martti Talvela Martti Olavi Talvela (4 February 1935 – 22 July 1989) was a Finnish operatic bass. Born in Hiitola, Finland (now in the Republic of Karelia), the eighth of ten children

, conducted by

James Levine James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...

. In 1989, Donat appeared in a film version of ''Der Schauspieldirektor''. As of 2009, Zdzisława Donat-Pajda is Professor Emeritus at the

Fryderyk Chopin University of Music The Chopin University of Music ( pl, Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe.

Videography

* ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' (Talvela; Bertini, G.Rennert, 1976) iveArthaus Musik * "''Die Zauberflöte'' für Kinder" (Cotrubaş, Sieber, Schreier, Boesch, Rydl; Levine, Ponnelle, 1982) ive

TDK is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation that manufactures electronic components and recording and data-storage media. Its motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity". "TDK" is an initialism of the original Ja ...

References

* Liner notes to ''Die Zauberflöte'', RCA, 1981.

External links

Zdzisława Donat in an excerpt from ''Die Zauberflöte'' (1980)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donat, Zdzislawa 1936 births Living people Polish operatic sopranos Musicians from Poznań 20th-century Polish women opera singers