About the Death of KS Ileana Cotrubaș

The Vienna State Opera mourns the loss of the great soprano KS Ileana Cotrubaș, who passed away at the age of 87.

All those who heard her sing and saw her on stage still rave about her today. For many, she was the Violetta, the Nedda, the Mimi, and the Gilda of her time. But she also set new standards as Susanna or Tatiana. Outward, polished perfection was not what she sought, but rather artistic truth in her singing and acting—and through this, even individual phrases became a profound experience with Cotrubaș, and through her nuanced coloring, emotions and individual moments into music, into an audible and palpable passion. Just the way she, as Violetta in the famous recording under Carlos Kleiber (alongside Plácido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes), delivered Giorgio Germont’s letter addressed to her, it made performance history. And scarcely any soprano has conveyed, through the closing “È tardi!”, Violetta’s grief, her despair, her hopelessness, as powerfully and poignantly as she did.

Born in Galați, Romania, Cotrubaș began her training in 1948 in the children’s choir of the Bucharest National Opera and at Radio Bucharest; later she studied at the Bucharest Conservatory and in Vienna. Numerous engagements have taken the Vienna-based soprano to the major stages in Paris, Milan, New York, London, Berlin, and Amsterdam, as well as to the Salzburg Festival and Glyndebourne, though the Vienna State Opera always held a special place in her heart, serving as her true artistic home. In 1969, she made her debut here as Pamina (*The Magic Flute*) and remained with the company until 1990, appearing in roles such as Violetta (La Traviata), Nedda (Pagliacci), Mimi (La Bohème), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Gilda (Rigoletto), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Amelia (Simon Boccanegra), and Micaëla (Carmen). She continued to perform as a spirited debater until 2012.

In 1981, Ileana Cotru­baș was named an Austrian Chamber Singer, and in 1991 she was awarded honorary membership in the Vienna State Opera.

The Vienna State Opera is flying a black flag as a sign of mourning.