Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS was a mezzo-soprano from Spain.
She is well known for her performances in Rossini’s Rosina and La Cenerentola, as well as Bizet’s Carmen, and is praised for her technical brilliance, musical acumen, and seductive stage presence.
In 1979, she played Zerlina in Joseph Losey’s Don Giovanni. She took part in the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the opening ceremonies of Expo ’92 in Seville.
Berganza made her operatic debut in 1957 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Dorabella in Mozart’s Cos fan tutte. She made her La Scala debut the same year.
She made her Glyndebourne Festival debut in 1958 as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and later in Rossini’s La Cenerentola as well.
Berganza made her Royal Opera House debut in 1959 as Cherubino and returned the following year as Rosina in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, which became one of her defining roles.
She did it again in 1979 at the Opernhaus Zürich, when she played Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther.
She made her American debut at the Dallas Opera in 1958, playing Isabella in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri and subsequently Neri in Cherubini’s Médée.
In 1967, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cherubino, alongside Cesare Siepi as Figaro, Mirella Freni as Susanna, Tom Krause and Pilar Lorengar as the Almaviva couple, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff in his house debut and conducted by Joseph Rosenstock.
She returned for Rosina the next year, first in a broadcast performance with Mario Sereni as Figaro, Luigi Alva, and Fernando Corena as Bartolo, led by Richard Bonynge. According to a critic from the New York Daily News,
Teresa Berganza cause of death
Teresa Berganza died at the age of 89 on 13 May 2022. Her cause of death has not been stated yet. Her family just confirmed her passing a few hours ago.
