Europe of Cultures - Teresa Berganza

Context

Born in 1935, Teresa Berganza studied music very seriously, the piano, the organ and composition. She debuted in 1957 onstage at a festival in Aix en Provence in a Mozart opera. An international career began. She sang in the biggest theatres works by Rossini, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Bizet (his Carmen is famous) and especially Mozart, with the Cherubino ofNoces de Figaro, which would remain her favourite role. She played an important role in the rediscovery of the baroque repertoire, she sang Cesti, Scarlatti, Pergolèse, Monteverdi...

At the same time, she gave recitals, opera airs, Spanish melodies and zarzuela extracts. Her large, nuanced, coloured, virtuoso voice, her attention to texts, musical competence all made Teresa Berganza one of the great mezzo sopranos of the second half of the 20th century. She's also a great teacher who continues to teach the art of singing.

Michel Coupard

Transcription

Journalist

Lyric art now, these days, in Paris, we see her everywhere, Teresa Berganza, one of today's greatest mezzo-sopranos, here for a few days at Bercy, in Carmen, and soon for a singing recital on the occasion of the Paris festival. However, contrary to appearances, our Spanish diva is known for not sacrificing her family life for her career. It was in her appartment in Escurial, near Madrid, where she welcomed our team, Elisabeth Kiledjian and Patrick Millerioux before her trip to Paris.

(Music)

Teresa Berganza

I'm Spanish, and we might have a reputation for being a bit, shall we say, simple. I think that it's the exact opposite, that's only the reputation. I'm a "stubborn head", and when I say: "I want that", I want that, and I go there, I do it.

Elisabeth Kiledjian

Stubborn, irresistible. Which other 23 year old baby diva would have refused to sing the Traviata, at Milan's Scala, from fear of breaking her Mozartian voice on Verdi's scores? Which Carmen has ever welcomed Don José on stage with a casual "Nice to meet you"? This tenor was too busy to honour the slightest rehearsal with her presence. A rebel with the perverted effects of the star system, Berganza has deserted the opera programmes for the last few years to give recitals, except when we don't take her professional rigour for an anachronic luxury.

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Teresa Berganza

I pour my heart out, I truly become at one with the character, really, so much so that I remember when I was singing Cherubino, there were times when I said to myself: "It's not true that I love women", because I was able to love the countess. Naturally, the countess was beautiful and was charming and she's a great character or was a friend of mine, so I was truly in Cherubino's skin. I was very... I think that Cherubino always gave me lots of, let's say, of youth and adolescence because I was Cherubino for... I'm still Cherubino, sometimes, even now.

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Elisabeth Kiledjian

When the red silk robe is given back to the dresser, the vibes of fervour of 10,000 strangers remain, obssessive fragments of Bizet, the sensual rebounds of 3 hours of passion and of total abandon of one's own life. Not for long. Teresa thumbs her nose, Berganza's terrible child, the star. She never wanted a happiness that was glued to the solitary halo of the projectors.

(Music)