Natalia Leonidovna Troitskaya (Russian:Наталья Леонидовна Троицкая; 1951 – 9 April 2006) was a Russianoperaticsoprano who had a major international career during the 1980s and early 1990s. She particularly excelled in the operas ofGiacomo Puccini andGiuseppe Verdi. Among her signature roles were Tatyana inPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky'sEugene Onegin and the title heroines in Verdi'sAida, Puccini'sManon Lescaut, and Puccini'sTosca. She was a frequent partner ofPlácido Domingo during the 1980s and also sang opposite other great artists likeMontserrat Caballé,Dmitri Hvorostovsky, andLuciano Pavarotti.[1]
Born inBelgrade, Troitskaya's father was a professional violinist and her mother was a concert pianist. She studied voice for six years inMoscow and Belgrade and won singing competitions inToulouse,Vercelli, andBarcelona. She made her professional opera debut in 1981 as Elisabetta di Valois at theLiceu, inDon Carlo, withJaume Aragall in the title role. The same year, she sang at Liceu in the title role of Puccini'sTosca opposite Nunzio Todisco as Mario Cavaradossi andJuan Pons as Scarpia.
Troitskaya quickly became an important presence on the international opera scene.[2] In 1982 she sang the title role of Verdi'sAida at theOpéra Royal de Wallonie and theSferisterio Opera Festival. She then gave several performances in South America in 1982–1983. In 1984 she became a member of theVienna State Opera, making her debut with the company that year as Aida. She remained committed to that opera house through 1991 where she was particularly admired for her portrayals of Puccini and Verdi heroines.[2]
While working primarily in Vienna, Troitskaya appeared as a guest artist at theOpéra National de Paris (1985, Amelia in Verdi'sUn ballo in maschera), theStaatsoper Stuttgart (1985, Elisabetta in Verdi'sDon Carlos), theTeatro dell'Opera di Roma (1985, the title role inFrancesco Cilea'sAdriana Lecouvreur), theArena di Verona Festival (1985–1986, Aida and Amelia), theHamburg State Opera (1986–1988, Amelia, Elisabetta, Leonora in Verdi'sIl trovatore, Nedda inPagliacci, and the title heroine of Puccini'sManon Lescaut), theRoyal Opera, London (1986, Tosca), theLuxor Temple (1987, Aida), theDeutsche Oper Berlin (1988–1989, Desdemona in Verdi'sOtello, Leonora and Tosca), theTeatro Nacional de São Carlos (1989, Desdemona), theBavarian State Opera ( Adriana Lecouvreur in 1984 and later on Tosca, Elisabetta, Amelia, Tosca, Mimi and Lisa), theWashington National Opera (1989, Lisa in Tchaikovsky'sThe Queen of Spades, and theLos Angeles Opera (1990, Elisabetta) among others.[2]
She died inMoscow in 2006 at the age of 55 after a long bout with serious illness.[1]
Troitskaya's audio performances included a disc in which she and theCzech Philharmonic perform the work ofJosef Suk under the baton ofCharles Mackerras and as a soloist on a recording ofDmitri Shostakovich'sSymphony No. 13 with theRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra.[1][2] Video captured of her performance with Dmitri Hvorostovsky in 1990 was released on VHS and DVD.
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