Mercedes Capsir (; 20 July 1895 – 13 March 1969) was a
Catalan opera singer, a high
coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills.
The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...
, particularly associated with light Italian roles, such as Lucia and Gilda.
Life and career
Mercedes Capsir was born in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, in the same house where another Spanish soprano,
Maria Barrientos
MarÃa Alejandra Barrientos Llopis (4 March 1884 - 8 August 1946) was a Spanish opera singer, a light coloratura soprano.
Biography
Barrientos was born in Barcelona on 4 March 1884. She received a thorough musical education (piano and violi ...
, had been born 12 years earlier. She studied (piano, composition, voice) at the
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu () is a music college in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1837 with the name ''Liceo Filo-dramático de Montesión''.
In 1847 the institution inaugurated the opera house Gran Teatre del Li ...
, before making her debut in Genora, in 1913, as Gilda in ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'', a role she will remain closely associated with throughout her career.
In 1916, she made her debut at the
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in Barcelona, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose.
Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu ope ...
in Barcelona, the
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...
in Madrid, the
Teatro Nacional de São Carlos
The ''Teatro Nacional de São Carlos'' () (''National Theatre of Saint Charles'') is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on June 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 ...
in Lisbon, the
Teatro Colón
The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...
in Buenos Aires, as well as at the
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
in 1917. Gilda was her debut role at all these opera houses.
Her Italian debut took place in Bologna, as Rosina in ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia
''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 '' ...
'', followed by Elvira in ''
I puritani
' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and changed to three acts before the premiere on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set ...
'', in Venice, opposite
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (11 December 1892 – 17 March 1979) was an Italian tenor with a lyric voice of exceptional range and technical facility. He performed throughout Europe and the Americas in a top-class career that spanned 40 years.
Career an ...
, she also appeared in Rome, before
reaching
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
in Milan, in 1924, again as Gilda, opposite
baritone
Carlo Galeffi and tenor
Miguel Fleta
Miguel Burro Fleta (28 December 1897, in Albalate de Cinca, Province of Huesca, Aragon – 29 May 1938, in A Coruña) was a Spanish operatic lyric tenor.
Despite his short stage career, lasting from 1919 to 1935, Fleta has been described as one ...
, and conducted by
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...
.
Capsir sang mainly in Europe, and in a very limited repertory, other roles included: Amina in ''
La sonnambula
''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...
'', Lucia in
''
Lucia di Lammermoor
''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...
'', and Violetta in ''
La traviata''. She took part in performances of
Giordano's ''
Il Re
''Il re'' (''The king'') is a novella or opera in one act and three scenes by composer Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. The opera premiered at La Scala in Milan on 12 January 1929. Julian Budden: "Il re", ''Grove Musi ...
'' at La Scala in 1929.
Capsir retired from the stage in 1949, her final performance took place at the Liceu in Barcelona, as Carolina in ''
Il matrimonio segreto
' (''The Secret Marriage'') is a dramma giocoso in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the 1766 play '' The Clandestine Marriage'' by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed ...
'', and then turned to teaching. She died, aged 73, in
Suzzara
Suzzara ( Lower Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua, in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about south of the city of Mantua.
Suzzara was given the honorary title of a city by ...
(Lombardy, Italy).
Mercedes Capsir recorded in 1928, complete versions of ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' and ''Rigoletto'', opposite
Riccardo Stracciari and
Dino Borgioli
Dino Borgioli (15 February 1891 – 12 September 1960) was an Italian lyric tenor. Praised by critics for his musicianship, he was particularly associated with roles in operas composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, Ros ...
. She also recorded the first ever complete ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' and ''La traviata''. In Spain and also for the Columbia Record Co. she recorded the Spanish zarzuela "Marina" by Arrieta in a performance which also featured
Hipolito Lazaro and Jose Mardones.
Sources
*
Alain Pâris
Alain Pâris (born 22 November 1947) is a French conductor and musicologist.
Biography
Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree. He studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux, Paul Paray and Georg Solti and won the ...
, ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interpretation musicale au XX siècle'' (2 vols),
Éditions Robert Laffont
Éditions Robert Laffont () is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by (1916–2010). Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium.
Imprints belonging to Édit ...
(Bouquins, Paris 1982, 4th ed. 1995, 5th Edn 2004).
* Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition), ''Guide de l’opéra'', Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capsir, Mercedes
1895 births
1969 deaths
Opera singers from Catalonia
Spanish operatic sopranos
Fonotipia Records artists
20th-century Spanish women opera singers
Singers from Barcelona
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu alumni