Dunja Vejzović (pronounced[dûɲav̞ɛ̂jzɔv̞it͡ɕ]; born 20 October 1943) is a Croatian operaticmezzo-soprano andsoprano.
Dunja Vejzović | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dunja Crnković (1943-10-20)20 October 1943 (age 82) |
| Alma mater | Zagreb Academy of Music |
| Occupation(s) | operaticmezzo-soprano soprano |
| Years active | 1968 - 2014 |
Dunja Crnković was born inZagreb and was married in 1963, changing her surname to Vejzović. She studied at theZagreb Academy of Music, where she sang The Witch inHänsel und Gretel in 1968. She began her career as amezzo-soprano with theCroatian National Theatre in Zagreb, debuting in 1970 as Ariel inStjepan Šulek'sOluja (The Tempest).
From 1971 to 1978, Vejzović was a member of the Nuremberg Opera, where she appeared in many operas, including principal roles inOrfeo ed Euridice,Carmen,Tannhäuser (as Venus),Intolleranza,Die Soldaten (as Charlotte),Dido and Æneas,Elektra (as Klytemnästra),Il trovatore (as Azucena, directed byHans Neuenfels in his operatic debut),Boris Godunov (as Marina Mnichek),Wozzeck (as Marie),Aïda (as Amneris),Lulu (as the Countess Geschwitz), andSamson et Dalila. Among her teachers wereIris Adami Corradetti andGina Cigna.
Her international career began in 1978, at theBayreuth Festival, where she sang Kundry inParsifal, for three summers. On 9 October 1978 Vejzović made herMetropolitan Opera debut inTannhäuser, as Venus, oppositeJess Thomas in the name part, withJames Levine conducting.
In 1980 and 1981,Herbert von Karajan engaged her to appear in hisSalzburg Easter FestivalParsifal, which was reckoned a great success. In 1984, she sang Ortrud, inLohengrin, for that Festival. In 1982, Vejzović debuted at theTeatro alla Scala, as Didon inLes Troyens, conducted byGeorges Prêtre and directed byLuca Ronconi. At that theatre, she also appeared inSuor Angelica (as the Zia Principessa, 1983, conducted byGianandrea Gavazzeni),Tannhäuser (1984),Der fliegende Holländer (as Senta, 1988), andParsifal (conducted byRiccardo Muti, 1991).
Another of her great collaborations has been with the directorRobert Wilson, in whose productions she sang the title role ofAlceste (conducted byChristoph Eschenbach, 1986–87), and inParsifal (1991 and 1992).
Vejzović has also appeared in Monte-Carlo (Brünnhilde inDie Walküre, 1979), Berlin, Carnegie Hall (the Verdi Requiem, conducted byLorin Maazel, 1982), Barcelona (Hérodiade, oppositeMontserrat Caballé andJosé Carreras, 1983), Paris (Médée, 1986),Teatro Colón (Kundry, 1986), Vienna (Wozzeck, underClaudio Abbado, 1987;Lohengrin, withPlácido Domingo, 1990), and Houston (Parsifal andLohengrin, 1992).
Also in her repertoire areErwartung,Rienzi,Siegfried,Le Cid,Bluebeard's Castle,Œdipus rex,Attila, Abigaille inNabucco,I due Foscari, Princess Eboli inDon Carlos, Lady Macbeth inMacbeth,Fierrabras,Fidelio,Thérèse, Brangäne inTristan und Isolde, andSapho.
Other distinguished conductors with whom Vejzović has collaborated have includedChristoph von Dohnányi,Armin Jordan,Michael Gielen,Lovro von Matačić,Jesús López-Cobos,Zubin Mehta,Carlos Kleiber,Nicola Rescigno, andNikolaus Harnoncourt.
In 2002 she bid farewell to the stage, as Charlotte inWerther, at Zagreb, withFrancisco Araiza in the name part.
She has twice won the Prix Fondation Fanny Heldy, for her recordings of Kundry and Ortrud. As of 2009, Mme Vejzović is a professor at theHochschule für Musik, in Stuttgart.
In March 2014 Vejzović made a brief return to the stage, as the Grandmother Buryjovka, inPeter Konwitschny's production ofJenůfa, at Oper Graz.
