Beatriz Parra Durango (born 1940) is an Ecuadorian classical

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 ...

Early life and education

Parra Durango was born in

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

the only child of Antonio Parra (1900-1994) and journalist Dora Durango Lopez (1916-1999). Parra's first studies took place at the Conservatory Antonio Neumane in

, where she became the soloist of the Conservatory's choir.

Career

In 1957, she received her first prize when she participated in the competition "Searching for a Voice in Ecuador", organized by the House of Culture and Radio CRE. That same year she became part of the cast of the Lyrical Ensemble of the House of Culture. In 1958, she performed for the first time as a soloist onstage in the role of Duchess Carolina in the

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

"Luisa Fernanda". In 1959, she sang the lead role in the Spanish

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

''Marina'' under the direction of the Spanish Maestro Carlos Arijita. In 1960 she travelled to Moscow on a scholarship given by the Ministry of Culture of the then USSR, and studied classical singing at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

, studying under Nina Dorliak, wife to pianist

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time,Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his interpreta ...

. She graduated with the Award For Excellence in 1966. In 1965, she won the silver medal and second place in the International Vocal Competition organized by the city of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. She sang as a soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. That same year she received the gold medal in the Musical Competition of George Enesco, Romania. She earned several first places in vocal competitions in Barcelona and

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. In 1975 she received the award "Conchita Badía" in

. For fifteen years she was a

prima donna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

and soloist with the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Opera Theater, where her repertoire included verismo such as

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

and

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

, romanticists such as

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

and classicists such as

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

. She performed the role of Michaela in

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

for the Bolshoi Opera House . In the fall of 2001 she was a guest performer of the Iberoamerican Culture Festival.

Personal life

Parra Durango married Enrique Gil, with whom she had her only daughter, singer and classical trainee Beatriz Gil Parra. Currently, although retired, she teaches voice as head of the Beatriz Parra Foundation, along with the

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Konstantin Simonian.

References

External links

The Voice of Russia: Interview and brief biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parra Durango, Beatriz 1940 births Living people Operatic sopranos 20th-century Ecuadorian women singers Musicians from Guayaquil Ecuadorian expatriates Expatriates in the Soviet Union 21st-century Ecuadorian women Moscow Conservatory alumni