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Agnes Baltsa
Agnes Baltsa
Born	November 19, 1944
Nationality	Greek
Alma mater	Greek National Conservatoire
Occupation	Opera Singer

Agni Baltsa^[1] (Greek: Aγνή Mπάλτσα; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.

Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of seven,^[2] before moving to Athens in 1958 to concentrate on singing. She graduated from the Greek National Conservatoire in 1965 and then travelled to Munich to continue studying on a Maria Callas scholarship.

Baltsa made her first appearance in an opera in 1968 as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro at Frankfurt Opera,^[2] before going on to appear as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera in 1970. Under the guidance of Herbert von Karajan, she became a regular at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. She became Kammersängerin of the Vienna State Opera in 1980.

Her best-known performance is that of Carmen by Georges Bizet, which she has sung a number of times with noted tenors such as José Carreras,^[3] Neil Shicoff, and others. She has also sung works by Mozart (notably Così fan tutte), Rossini (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Semiramide, L'italiana in Algeri), Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana), Saint-Saëns (Samson et Dalila),^[4] Verdi (Aida, La forza del destino, Il trovatore, Don Carlos), Bellini (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Offenbach (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and Donizetti (Il Campanello, Maria Stuarda).

She starred in the Austrian film Duett in 1992, playing an opera singer.

In 2017, she sang Klytemnestra in Richard Strauss's Elektra at the Greek National Opera's new premises at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.^[5]

Awards, Honors, and Memberships

1980: Kammersängerin (Austria)^[6]
1988: Honorary member (Vienna State Opera)
1993: Members (European Academy of Arts and Sciences)
Prix du Prestige Lyrique
Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
Gold Medal of the City of Vienna
Gold Medal of the City of Athens
Wilhelm-Furtwängler Award

Discography

Operas


Year of release	Album details	Contributing artists	Label
1976	Mozart: Ascanio in Alba	Lilian Sukis, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Arleen Augér, Salzburger Kammerchor, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold Hager	DG
1977	Mozart: Mitridate	Arleen Augér, Ileana Cotrubaș, Edita Gruberová, Christine Weidinger, Werner Hollweg, David Kübler, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold Hager	DG
1978	Strauss: Salome	Hildegard Behrens, Karl-Walter Böhm, José van Dam, Wiesław Ochman, Heljä Angervo, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan	EMI
1979	Verdi: Don Carlos	Nicolai Ghiaurov, José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, Mirella Freni, Edita Gruberová, Barbara Hendricks, Chor der Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan	EMI
1980	Verdi: Aida	Mirella Freni, José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, Katia Ricciarelli, Thomas Moser, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan	EMI
1981	Massenet: Thérèse	Francisco Araiza, George Fortune, Giancarlo Luccardi, Gino Sinimberghi, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI, Gerd Albrecht	Atlantis
1981	Ponchielli: La Gioconda	Montserrat Caballé, Alfreda Hodgson, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sherrill Milnes, London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Bartoletti	Decca
1982	Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice	Margaret Marshall, Edita Gruberová, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti	EMI
1982	Donizetti: Il Campanello	Enzo Dara, Carlo Gaifa, Biancamaria Casoni, Angelo Romero, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Symphoniker, Gary Bertini	CBS
1983	Bizet: Carmen	José Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, José van Dam, Chœurs de l'Opéra de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan	Deutsche Grammophon
1983	Verdi: Rigoletto	Thomas Allen, Luciana Serra, José Carreras, Evgeny Nesterenko, José van Dam, Coro del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan	Deutsche Grammophon
1988	Rossini: La Cenerentola	Francisco Araiza, Ruggero Raimondi, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner	Decca

References

^ Koutsoukis, Angelos (September 5, 2023). "When Agni Baltsa sang Stavros Xarchakos".
^ ^a ^b "Μπάλτσα Αγνή - Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή". virtualmuseum.nationalopera.gr. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
^ Milnes, Rodney (26 September 1984). "Athens Festival - New look for familiar favourites". Financial Times. p. 12.
^ Clements, Andrew (20 May 1985). "Review of Samson Et Dalila at Covent Garden". Financial Times. p. 17.
^ Κιουσόπουλος, Δημήτρης (2017-10-23). "Ο θρίαμβος της Ηλέκτρας". Andro (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
^ "Συντελεστές". www.tch.gr. Retrieved 2024-04-18.