Conchita Badía

Concepció Badia Millàs (14 November 1897 – 2 May 1975) (known by her stage name as Conchita Badía or Conxita Badia) was a Spanish soprano and pianist. Admired for her spontaneity, expressiveness, and clear diction, she was considered one of the greatest interpreters of 20th century Catalan, Spanish and Latin American art song. She premiered many works in that genre, including those by Enrique Granados, Manuel de Falla, Frederic Mompou, Alberto Ginastera, and Enric Morera, several of which had been specially written for her voice. The main part of the collection of Badia's sound recordings, scores, letters and pictures is preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya. In one of the letters, Pablo Casals wrote: "Everything I've written for a soprano voice has been thinking about you. Therefore, every one is yours."

Conxita Badia was born Concepció Badia i Millàs in Barcelona on 14 November 1897 and studied under Enrique Granados, Manuel de Falla and Pablo Casals. She had initially enrolled in the Granados Academy as a piano student, but Granados 'discovered' her voice during a solfège examination. Her first appearance on the stage was as one of the six flower maidens in a performance of Wagner's Parsifal at the Palau de la Música Catalana in 1913 when she was only 16 years old. Her solo recital debut came on 5 April 1915 in the premiere performance of the Granados song cycle, Canciones Amatorias, accompanied by the composer (two of the songs, "Llorad corazón" and "Gracia mía", were dedicated to her by Granados). Following the death of Granados and his wife in the 1916 sinking of the Sussex, she performed in numerous concerts in his memory across Spain and Europe. In 1935, she made only other appearance on the opera stage: to sing the title role in María del Carmen. It was the first time the work had been revived since its initial performances in 1898-1899.

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