Popp, Lucia

▪ 1994

      Czech-born Austrian lyric soprano (b. Nov. 12, 1939, Uhorska Ves, Czech.—d. Nov. 16, 1993, Munich, Germany), had a light, transparent voice that became weightier as she matured, allowing her to take on heavier operatic roles. She studied music at the academy in Bratislava and made her professional debut in the city in 1963 as Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute. The role, which was especially well suited to her voice, was one she became closely identified with in her early career. In 1963 Popp also made her debut at the Vienna State Opera, where she formed a lifelong association and was given the honorary title Kammersängerin (court singer), and at Salzburg, Austria. Later in the 1960s she made debuts at London's Covent Garden and New York's Metropolitan Opera, and at Cologne, Germany, she appeared in the Mozart cycle staged by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle in the '70s. Although Popp was especially associated with Mozart and Strauss (she sang both Sophie and the Marschallin in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and recorded his Four Last Songs three times), she also sang Janacek, Puccini, and Wagner, appeared as soloist in Handel oratorios and Mahler symphonies, and became a noted recitalist. She made a large number of recordings. Popp died of a brain tumour.

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