Mariya Barrientos One of the most famous sopranos of the first half of the 20th century Country: Spain

Biography of Maria Barrientos

Maria Barrientos (Barrientos, 1884-1946) was one of the most famous sopranos of the first half of the 20th century. She made her debut on the opera stage at an incredibly young age. After a few vocal lessons with Francisco Boné in her hometown of Barcelona, Maria, at the age of 14, stepped onto the stage of the "Teatro Lirico" in the role of Ines in Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine". The following year, she began touring in Italy, France, Germany, and South American countries. In 1899, she performed the role of Lakme in Delibes' opera of the same name in Milan with great success. In 1903, the young Spanish singer made her debut at Covent Garden as Rosina in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville", and the following season she conquered La Scala as Dinorah in Meyerbeer's opera and again as Rosina. Maria Barrientos' career reached its peak during her performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1916, she made a stunning debut as Lucia in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" and became a favorite of the local audience, performing leading coloratura soprano roles for the next four seasons. Among the roles she performed on the stage of America's leading theater were Adina in Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore", where her partner was the great Caruso, and the Queen of Shemakha in Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Golden Cockerel". In her repertoire, she also had roles such as Amina in Bellini's "La Sonnambula", Gilda, Violetta, Mireille in Gounod's opera, and others. In the 1920s, Barrientos performed in France and Monte Carlo, where in 1929 she performed the lead role in Stravinsky's opera "The Nightingale". Maria Barrientos also became renowned as a sensitive interpreter of chamber compositions by French and Spanish composers. She made a series of brilliant recordings for the Fonotopia and Columbia labels, among which her vocal cycle of Manuel de Falla's "Seven Spanish Folk Songs" with the composer on the piano stands out. In her last years, the singer taught in Buenos Aires. Maria Barrientos' singing is characterized by a delicate, truly instrumental technique with a magnificent legato, which continues to captivate the imagination even after a century. Let us now enjoy the voice of one of the most talented and beautiful singers of the first half of the 20th century!
Discography:

1. Recital (Bellini, Mozart, Delibes, Rossini, Tomas, Grieg, Handel, Caballero, Meyerbeer, Ober, Verdi, Donizetti, Gounod, Gluck, de Falla) - Aria (2 CDs)
2. De Falla - Historical Recordings 1923-1976, Almaviva
3. Our Recovered Voices Vol. 1 - Aria
4. Charles Hackett (Duet), Marston
5. The Harold Wayne Collection, Symposium
6. Hipolito Lazaro (Duets), Preiser - LV.