Magda Ianculescu (30 March 1929 – 16 March 1995) was a Romanian operatic

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 ...

and voice teacher. A leading singer in the Romanian National Opera for many years, she was known for her musicality and vocal technique. Her voice had a wide

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

and a

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

which critics compared to that of

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

Maftei (2004)

Biography

Magda Ianculescu was born in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, a city in the

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

region of Romania, and was educated at the Oltea Doamna secondary school there before entering the Bucharest Conservatory of Dramatic Art in 1947. While in the final years of her studies at the conservatory, she became a member of the Romanian National Opera company in Bucharest. She made her stage debut as Rosina in Rossini's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'', which became one of her signature roles. Between 1953 and 1955 she won singing competitions in Bucharest, Prague ( Prague International Singing Competition 1954), and Warsaw and went on to perform not only in her native Romania but also in Belgium, Italy, France, Poland, the USSR,

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and other Eastern European countries. Her repertoire included more than 35 principal roles, ranging from Viennese

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

to contemporary Romanian opera and included Yaroslavna in Borodin's

Prince Igor ''Prince Igor'' (, ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the early Russian epic '' The Lay of Igor's Host'', which recounts the campaign of the 12th-centur ...

, Norina in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'', Violetta in '' La traviata'', Donna Elvira in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'', Blondchen in '' The Abduction from the Seraglio'', and Susanna in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

''. She also made many recordings for Romanian National Radio and the

Electrecord Electrecord is a Romanian record label which was founded in 1932 being a major company in the field of music production in Romania, particularly popular for the large number of LPs released on the Romanian music market. Among the musicians who ...

record company. Ianculescu retired from the stage in 1970 and from 1969 to 1977 was a professor at the Bucharest Conservatory of Dramatic Art where she trained many Romanian singers, including Elena Gaja. In 1971, she was awarded the , 2nd class. She died in Bucharest shortly before her 66th birthday.

Notes and references

Sources

*Biblioteca Națională a Republicii Moldova
Calendar Național March 2004
pp. 112–113 *Hope-Wallace, Philip (1958
"Review: ''Operatic Arias''"
(

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...

LPV 243). ''

Gramophone Magazine ''Gramophone'' (known as ''The Gramophone'' prior to 1970) is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continue ...

'', June 1958, p. 68 *Maftei, Ionel (2004)
"O voce de neuitat – Soprana Magda Ianculescu"
("An unforgettable voice – soprano Magda Ianculescu"). ''Evenimentul'', March 31, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ianculescu, Magda 1929 births 1995 deaths Musicians from Iași Romanian operatic sopranos 20th-century Romanian women opera singers National University of Music Bucharest alumni Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Romania)