Maria Cebotari
Born 1910, Chișinău, Moldova
Died 1949, Vienna, Austria
Decades after her death, conductor Herbert von Karajan said that she was the greatest Madama Butterfly he had ever conducted. Richard Strauss said that she was “the best all-rounder on the European stage.” What did he mean? This artist sang everything from Susanna to Salome, including all three soprano roles in Don Giovanni.
This was Maria Cebotari, a Romanian soprano who exploded onto the European opera stage in 1931 as Mimí in a performance of La Bohème at the Dresden Semperoper.
Cebotari first joined the Moscow Art Theater as an actress in 1929, which would serve her well in her subsequent career as Prima Donna at the Berlin State Opera (1936-1946) and the Vienna State Opera (1946-1949), her acting talent always commented on by press and public.
In 1949, while singing the Countess in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro at La Scala, she suffered severe pain, and during surgery, was found to have cancer of the liver and pancreas. Two months later, Maria Cebotari died in Vienna at age 39, at the height of her career and fame.
Cebotari’s voice was extremely versatile, with immaculate coloratura, a beautiful, silvery timbre and extensive range, a good (though not powerful) lower register, and gorgeous pianissimi.
Probably her most famous role was Salome in Richard Strauss’ opera of the same name. Here she is in the final scene of that opera:
Now contrast that with Mozart’s “Martern aller arten” from Die Entfürung aus dem Serail:
Let’s close with Cebotari singing “Es gibt ein Reich” from Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by Karajan, one year before the soprano’s untimely death:
The famous tenor Beniamino Gigli once said that Cebotari had one of the most beautiful female voices he had ever heard! We have to agree.