Agnes Baltsa
While Baltsa's voice had its technical flaws, particularly a sometimes hollow middle register, she had a stage presence somewhat reminiscent of Callas, a sense of fire and energy, that for her admirers more than made up for those. While a von Karajan protégé, she did not let him persuade her to sing the overly heavy roles such as Kundry that he offered her, and during the 1970s and 1980s was among the predominant lyric mezzos on the international operatic scene, with the occasional carefully planned foray, as her voice matured, into heavier roles such as Carmen, Dalila, Santuzza, and even Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlo.
As a child she showed musical promise (when she was just eight she tried her hand at composing) and when she was 14, her family moved to Athens to allow her to attend at the Conservatoire. In 1965 she graduated and won the Maria Callas Scholarship, which let her further her studies in Munich. In 1968, she made her opera debut as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro in Frankfurt, and in 1970 appeared at the Vienna State Opera as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. She made her United States debut in 1971 as Carmen at the Houston Grand Opera. She first performed with von Karajan in 1974, and he gave her many prominent roles in his productions in the coming years, including the famous 1977 Salome (as Herodias) and 1979 Salzburg Don Carlo. (In 1986, their different views of operatic drama led to a parting of the ways, patched up only in 1988, shortly before his death.) In 1976, she made her debut at La Scala as Dorabella, making her Covent Garden and Paris Opera debuts later that same year as Cherubino.
Her assertive Rosina in the recording of Il Barbiere di Siviglia on Philips (411 058-2) is an excellent example of her style.
© TiVo
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Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Mozart : Requiem - "Coronation Mass"
Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, Werner Krenn, José Van Dam, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda
Agnes Baltsa, Edita Gruberova, Francisco Araiza, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Giuseppe Patané
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen
Agnes Baltsa, José Carreras, José Van Dam, Katia Ricciarelli, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Agnes Baltsa - Songs My Country Taught Me
Agnes Baltsa, Athens Experimental Orchestra, Stavros Xarhakos, Kostas Papadopoulos
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Karajan Master Recordings
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From Greece with Love. Songs from the Home of the Olympics
Agnes Baltsa, Athens Experimental Orchestra, Stavros Xarhakos, Kostas Papadopoulos
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen - Highlights
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 5 Sep 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
ORFEO 40th Anniversary Edition: Legendary Voices
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 7 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
GRANDI VOCI AGNES BALTSA Una collana dedicata con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con le tecniche più moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica
Agnes Baltsa, Georges Bizet, Gioachino Rossini
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 2 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Songs my country taught me
Agnes Baltsa, Athens Experimental Orchestra, Stavros Xarhakos, Kostas Papadopoulos
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus
Lucia Popp, Agnes Baltsa, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Plácido Domingo
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 15 Oct 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri - Highlights
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen - Highlights
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 5 Sep 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Wesendonk Lieder - Berlioz: Les nuits d'été
Agnes Baltsa, London Symphony Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Oct 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier
Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, Janet Perry, Kurt Moll, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vincenzo Bellini : Capulets et Montaigus
Riccardo Muti, Edita Gruberova, Agnes Baltsa, Dano Raffanti, Gwynne Howell, Sir John Tomlinson
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Ascanio in Alba (Complete Mozart Edition)
Agnes Baltsa, Peter Schreier, Leopold Hager
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An Evening at the Opera: Famous Arias And Duets
Agnes Baltsa, Edita Gruberova, Luciano Pavarotti, Jon Vickers
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 25 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Riccardo Muti, Edita Gruberova, Agnes Baltsa, Dano Raffanti, Gwynne Howell, Sir John Tomlinson
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo