40 Facts About Viorica Cortez

Viorica Cortez was born on 26 December 1935 and is a noted Romanian-born mezzo-soprano, later French by naturalisation.

Viorica Cortez was born in Bucium, a village that is part of Iasi, into a family with Spanish origins.

Viorica Cortez is the eldest sister of the soprano Mioara Cortez, and of Stefania Serban, a professor of piano.

Viorica Cortez studied at the Iasi Conservatory and then for three years at Bucharest's Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory.

In Iasi, at the age of 17, Viorica Cortez sang the solo alto part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony; she continued singing solo voice parts with symphony orchestras in Moldavia for a number of years.

In Bucharest, Viorica Cortez was the student of Arta Florescu, a post-war Romanian soprano and professor.

Viorica Cortez vividly encouraged the young mezzo-soprano to consider international competitions.

Viorica Cortez took her advice and applied for the International "George Enescu" Contest in Bucharest, where she ranked only fourth.

Also in 1964, Viorica Cortez graduated from the Bucharest Conservatory, making her debut in a staged opera production - Gluck's Orphee et Eurydice.

Viorica Cortez made her debut in Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila opposite Ludovic Spiess in Cluj and then in Toulouse the same year, and she returned as Carmen one year later.

Viorica Cortez then established herself as one of the most respected and recognized young Romanian opera singers, though in her native country she appeared mostly in concerts and recitals.

Viorica Cortez's debut came in 1968 and, although the critics were not unanimously favorable to her, the performances were hailed as one of the season's most notable events.

For Viorica Cortez, that meant not only the launching in a new dimension of her professional career, but an encounter with Sandor Gorlinsky, the agent who added her to his star-studded roster.

Viorica Cortez did not return to Romania, deciding to continue her artistic destiny abroad and for quite some time was separated from her family members and friends.

Viorica Cortez performed in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and New York, where she first appeared alongside Martina Arroyo in Verdi's Messa da Requiem in Carnegie Hall.

In Milan, succeeding Shirley Verrett's Dalila, Viorica Cortez was asked by the opera management and conductor Georges Pretre to consider an extra performance, an exceptional decision of the theatre following the enormous success of her first appearance with the house.

In Chicago, Viorica Cortez was a commanding and electrifying Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda opposite Montserrat Caballe.

In 1972, Viorica Cortez sang Amneris at the Arena di Verona opposite the Radames of Franco Corelli.

Viorica Cortez became a favourite of the notoriously picky audience there.

Viorica Cortez felt at home both in the Italian and French repertoire.

Viorica Cortez was a shockingly tempestuous Klitemnestra in Richard Strauss' Elektra opposite Birgit Nilsson.

Viorica Cortez felt no boundaries or shyness in jumping from one composer to another, mixing Monteverdi with Giordano, Stravinsky Mussorgsky, Rossini and Lalo.

The many demanding roles that Viorica Cortez accepted through the 1970s took their toll.

Viorica Cortez continued singing, sometimes to fulfill contracts that had been signed five years earlier.

Viorica Cortez was forced to cancel some performances in Avignon and Marseille, and she searched for support besides her family and her vocal trainer.

Viorica Cortez returned to the stage after a couple of months' recovery, more cautious and more balanced, having decided to abandon the tremendous turmoil of the past.

Viorica Cortez starred in some, star-directed productions in Paris.

Viorica Cortez sang her last Eboli in 1982, her last Giulietta and Dalila in 1987, and her last Amneris in 1988.

Viorica Cortez's acting abilities, as well as the richness of her voice, made her a sought after mezzo for composition roles.

Viorica Cortez was able to sing in her native country again in the 1990s, after 20 years of exile.

Viorica Cortez appeared in numerous benefit galas and concerts and gave recitals in Bucharest and Iasi, as well as opera performances.

Viorica Cortez was driving when they crashed violently into a tree, killing him and seriously injuring her.

Viorica Cortez's comeback was emotionally highlighted by the Spanish press.

Viorica Cortez concentrated most of the rest of her career in Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, and Bilbao, though not neglecting offers from Italy or France.

In 2009, Viorica Cortez starred in the creation of a new opera in Montpellier.

Viorica Cortez sang the opera 278 times, more than Gianna Pederzini or Giulietta Simionato, and since her big Covent Garden break, she relentlessly deepened the character, almost identifying herself with Merimee's and Bizet's heroine.

Viorica Cortez arrived in Western Europe when all the major recording labels had exclusive contracts with more famous mezzo-sopranos.

Viorica Cortez then had the chance of recording Azucena in Il Trovatore with Bruno Bartoletti and Maddalena in Rigoletto with Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, both operas being filmed for German television.

In 1977, Viorica Cortez recorded in Luxembourg her one and only aria recital, which won the Grand Prize of Academie Lyrique du Disque in France.

Viorica Cortez was married three times: first, to the Romanian sculptor Marcel Guguianu, then to the French composer Emmanuel Bondeville, former manager of the Paris Opera and Opera Comique, and finally to the Romanian-born historian Adolf Armbruster.