Popp, Lucia
Popp, Lucia
Popp, Lucia , esteemed Czech-born Austrian soprano; b. Uhorška Veš, Nov. 12, 1939; d. Munich, Nov. 16, 1993. She studied at the Bratislava Academy of Music (1959–63) and in Prague, her principal mentor being Anna Prosenč-Hřusková. After singing at the Bratislava Opera, she went to Vienna and appeared as Barbarina at the Theater an der Wien (1963); that same year, she joined the Vienna State Opera, where she established herself as a principal member; also became a favorite at the Salzburg Festivals. In 1966 she made her first appearance at London’s Covent Garden as Oscar; then made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. in one of her finest roles, the Queen of the Night, on Feb. 19, 1967. She sang with many of the world’s leading opera houses, and also won distinction as a gifted concert and lieder artist. In 1979 she was made an Austrian Kammersängerin, and was awarded the Silver Rose of the Vienna Phil. She won accolades for her roles in operas by Mozart and Strauss, especially Pamina, Despina, Zerlina, Susanna, Zdenka, Sophie, and the Countess, as well as the Queen of the Night. For some years she was married to György Fischer . In 1986 she married Peter Seiffert
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire