Cristina Deutekom

Cristina Deutekom

Cristina Deutekom, 2011
Born 28 August 1931
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died 7 August 2014 (aged 82)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nationality Dutch
Occupation coloratura soprano, opera singer
Years active 1957–2004
Spouse(s) Jaap Deutekom (1952–2014)
Children 1

Cristina Deutekom, also known as Christine Deutekom and Christina Deutekom (28 August 1931 – 7 August 2014), was a Dutch coloratura soprano opera singer.

She sang with all the leading tenors of her time, including Carlo Bergonzi, José Carreras, Franco Corelli, Plácido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus, Luciano Pavarotti, and Richard Tucker.

Career

Deutekom was born in 1931 in Amsterdam[1] as Christine (Stientje) Engel. After some smaller roles, her breakthrough came in 1963, portraying the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Dutch National Opera. She then sang the same role at all major European opera houses and also at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1968. In 1974 she opened the Met season as Elena in I vespri siciliani alongside Plácido Domingo.

Besides the Queen of the Night, her Mozart roles included Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito. She sang the great bel canto roles, specifically in Rossini's Armida, in Bellini's Norma and I puritani, and in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

She went on to the great dramatic Verdi roles including Abigaile in Nabucco, Lady Macbeth, Leonora in Il trovatore, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, and Elena in I vespri siciliani. Other roles which were captured in commercial recordings include Giselda in I Lombardi and Odabella in Attila. Finally, she sang the title role in Puccini's Turandot.

Deutekom decided to end her stage career on the last day of 1986, after suffering heart problems during a performance of the opera Amaya in Bilbao. She turned to giving master classes internationally.

She made a return in November 1996 at the Concertgebouw Operafeest, at the age of 65 singing the Bolero from I vespri siciliani and Anna Elisa's aria Liebe, du Himmel auf Erden from the operetta Paganini, reportedly "bringing the house down".[2] As of 2001, she was a guest teacher at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, but after suffering a stroke in 2004, she retired from public life.

She died on 7 August 2014 after a fall in her home.[3]

Additional operatic repertoire

Honors

  • Knight in the order of Orange-Nassau, 1974
  • Singer of the year, Milan, 1974
  • Singer of the year, Milan, 1973
  • Premio Romeo e Juliet, Verona, 1972
  • Rigoletto d'Oro, Mantua, 1973

Personal life

She married Jaap Deutekom, a boxer, in 1952 and they had a daughter, Irma Deutekom, in 1955.

References

  1. ↑ "Cristina Deutekom", Muziek Encyclopedie (Dutch)
  2. ↑ "Opera Nostalgia web site". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Sopraan Cristina Deutekom (82) overleden". Nu.nl. Retrieved 2014-08-08.

External links