Pilar Lorengar

Diagnoses

Personal

Vocation

Spanish (Aragonese) soprano who was best known for her interpretations of opera and the Spanish genre Zarzuela, and as a soprano for her full register, a youthful timbre as well as a distinctive vibrato. She made her professional debut in 1950 in Oran, Algeria, playing the role of Maruxa. In 1951 she made her Spanish debut in the principal role in the Zarzuela El canastillo de fresas (The Strawberry Basket). Her international opera career started in 1955 at the Festival international d'Art Lyrique in Aix-en-Provence, where she played Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. She went on to play in London, Glyndebourne and Buenos Aires. In 1958, she signed a contract with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a relationship that would last for thirty years. Her 1985 Zarzuela duet album recorded with Plácido Domingo at the Salzburg Music Festival brought her again to the forefront of Spanish Zarzuela. Both she and Domingo received Grammy Award nominations for Best Classical Vocal Soloist for the album. Pilar Lorengar died of cancer on 2 June 1996 in Berlin, scene of her longest artistic associations, where she resided with her husband, Dr Jurgen Schaff. Link to Wikipedia biography