Baltsa, Agnes
Baltsa, Agnes
Baltsa, Agnes, prominent Greek mezzo-soprano; b. Lefkas, Nov. 19, 1944. She studied at the Athen Cons, and won the first Callas scholarship, then pursued her training in Munich and Frankfurt am Main. In 1968 she made her operatic debut as Cherubino at the Frankfurt am Main Opera, where she was a member until 1972. In 1970 she sang at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, appeared as Octavian in Vienna, and made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Bastien. Her U.S. debut followed in 1971 when she appeared as Carmen in Houston. In 1976 she sang for the first time at Milan’s La Scala and London’s Covent Garden as Dorabella, returning to Covent Garden in 1984 to portray Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi On Dec. 13, 1979, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Octavian, returning to N.Y. in 1987 as Carmen. In 1989 she sang Santuzza in Vienna, and returned there in 1993 as Azucena. Following an engagement as Elisabeth in Maria Stuarda in Barcelona in 1993, she sang Dalila in Zürich in 1996. She also pursued a fine concert career. Among her other roles of note were Rosina, Orpheus, Berlioz’s Dido, and Strauss’s Composer.
Bibliography
C. Baumann, A. B.: Eine Bildmonographie (Zürich, 1986).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire