Hariclea Darclée
| Hariclea Darclée | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Hariclea Haricli 10 June 1860 Brăila, Romania |
| Died | 12 January 1939 (aged 78) Bucharest, Romania |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Occupation | Operatic soprano |
| Years active | 1888-1918 |
| Website | [1] |
Hariclea Darclée (born 10 June 1860 - 12 January 1939) was a celebrated Romanian operatic soprano, regarded as one of the world's most famous opera singers during her three-decade-long career.
She possessed an agile, powerful, and beautiful voice that was wielded with a fine technique. An extremely beautiful woman, Darclée's stage presence was as elegant and refined as her singing.
A singer of prodigious talent, her repertoire ranged from coloratura soprano roles to heavier Verdi roles, including many in the Franco-Italian lyric repertory. Throughout her career she participated in several world premieres, creating the title roles in Puccini's Tosca, Mascagni's Iris, and Catalani's La Wally.
Puccini considered her an artistic genius and "the most beautiful and exquisite Manon".Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo, regarded as the most comprehensive international performing arts encyclopedia, named Darclée "world's greatest singer for 25 years". Darclée was considered the equivalent, in the opera world, of Sarah Bernhardt.
Darclée was born in Brăila to a family with Greek roots. Her father, Ion Haricli, was a landlord in the Teleorman district. Her mother, born Aslan, was a relative of the noble Mavrocordatos family. The family lived for a while in the town of Turnu Măgurele in southern Romania. She began her studies at Conservatoire of music in Iaşi, making her professional appearances as a concert performer in 1884. She continued her studies in Paris under Jean-Baptiste Faure. She married a young officer, Iorgu Hartulari, and became known for a while as Hariclea Hartulari-Darclée, Darclée being the nom de théâtre she adopted when she made her debut at the Paris Opéra in 1888 as Marguerite in Charles Gounod's Faust. In 1889, she replaced Adelina Patti as Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, to increasing acclaim.
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