One of the most popular and admired mezzo-sopranos of the modern era, Teresa Berganza, who has died aged 89, was once described by the conductor Herbert von Karajan as “the Carmen of the century”. With a voice that married lustrous tone to formidable technical artistry and a captivating stage presence, she excelled in a relatively narrow repertoire judiciously developed to harness her talents.
Having mastered the skills required for coloratura roles, not least in the operas of Rossini, she progressed, by her own account, to Mozart for “his style, his soul”. As she once said, “Mozart is my Messiah. Just call me a mystic, I don’t mind. My name is Teresa for a reason.” Only then did she finally accede to the many requests to undertake the role of Carmen, to which she brought both a vocal and theatrical vibrancy and a remarkably individual conception.
