S C U O L A D E L L A R E G I N E
Leyla Gencer bid her farewell
to the opera scene in 1985 with her performance of Francesco Gnecco's La Prova di un'Opera Seria at La Fenice
Theatre, though she continued singing at concerts and recitals until 1992.
From 1982 on, Leyla Gencer dedicated herself to the education of young opera artists. She worked as the Didactic Artistic Director of As.Li.Co. of Milan between 1983-88 and was appointed by Maestro Riccardo Muti to run La Scala's School for Young Artists (Academia Teatro alla Scala) between 1997-98. Until her passing in 2008, Gencer was the Artistic Director of the academy for opera artists in Teatro alla Scala, where she was also teaching opera interpretation. She also served as the president of Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts' board of trustees.
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Scuola della Regine, RAI Trieste 1982 Photo © POZZAR, Trieste |
Leyla Gencer achieved her
remarkable presence in the opera world not only by the variety of her
repertoire, but also with the dramatic nuances that she attributed to the roles
she performed. A dedicated researcher and teacher, she reintroduced many
forgotten works of the romantic period to the opera stages.
During her activity at
As.Li.Co. and La Scala, Gencer contiuned searching for the unkown. Vivaldi’s
opera Il Giustino was revived after
so many years thanks to her researches. At La Scala Academy she worked on
neglected or lesser staged operas and trained many singers. Being the president
of the of Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts' board of trustees, Gencer
worked as the consultant and coordinator of two opera productions realized in
Istanbul Music Festival. One of them was Bertoni’s Orfeo (1997) conducted by Claudio Schimone and directed by Pier
Luigi Pizzi. The second opera was
Vivaldi’s long neglected opera Bajazet (1999) conducted by Fabio Biondi and once again directed by
Pier Luigi Pizzi at Hagia Eirene Museum- a Byzantine church from the 5th
century.
During her career Gencer gave
many seminars. Some of them are: 1976 Gerssan,
Aosta- Seminar on Il Trovatore,
Venice- Seminar on Donizetti, 1982
Trieste- Donizetti Seminar, 1985
Montpellier Singing Academy- Seminar on
Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, 1985 Savona-Donizetti Conference, 1987 Teatro La Fenice Venice- Seminar on Italian Opera, 1989
Istanbul -Seminar on Donizetti, 1989
Arenzano-Seminar on Donizetti, 1990 Istanbul -Seminar on Rossini.
SOME OF HER SEMINAR NOTES
