Maria Bieșu

Maria Bieșu (b. 3 August 1935, Volintiri – d. 16 May 2012, Chișinău) was a soprano of world renown, prima donna of the National Opera of the Republic of Moldova and one of the greatest voices the Romanian space has produced. Born into a peasant family in southern Bessarabia, where everyone loved song, she came to shine on the most prestigious lyric stages in the world.

Training and debut

She was admitted to the State Conservatory of Chișinău in 1955 and graduated in 1961, the year she joined the company of the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Moldova, making her debut in „Tosca”. She soon prepared benchmark roles such as Tatiana in „Evgheni Oneghin” (Eugene Onegin), Liza in „Dama de pică” (The Queen of Spades) and Cio-Cio-San in „Madama Butterfly”. In 1965 she was sent for advanced study at the La Scala theatre in Milan, under the guidance of the conductor Enrico Piazza.

International career

International recognition came in 1967 when, in Tokyo, she won the grand prize of the „Miura Tamaki” International Singing Competition and the title of „Best Cio-Cio-San in the World”. In 1971 she was invited to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she sang in „Paliațe” (Pagliacci), subsequently receiving an annual contract. Her repertoire included roles from Puccini, Verdi and Tchaikovsky, performed with remarkable dramatic power and vocal beauty.

Legacy

In 1990, Maria Bieșu founded in Chișinău the International Festival of Opera and Ballet Stars „Invită Maria Bieșu” (Maria Bieșu Invites), a prestigious event of Moldovan cultural life. In 2012, the year of her death, the Government of the Republic of Moldova decided that the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Chișinău should bear her name. Maria Bieșu remains a legend of the lyric art and a symbol of Moldovan cultural excellence.

A voice of legend

Maria Bieșu sang on the stages of the world's most important lyric theatres — La Scala, the Metropolitan, the Bolshoi — and was the partner of some of the great singers of her era. Her ample voice and dramatic expressiveness made her one of the most admired sopranos of the 20th century. She was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR and Moldova's highest orders. Today the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Chișinău and the festival she founded bear her name, perpetuating the memory of Bessarabia's greatest opera singer.