Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano and actress
Zdzisława Donat-Pajda (born 4 July 1936, Poznań) is a Polish coloratura soprano. She studied in Warsaw and Siena, where she was a pupil of Gino Bechi.
In 1964, Donat debuted in Poznań, as Gilda in Rigoletto, and later appeared in many international opera houses, including those in Toulouse, Helsinki, Warsaw, Moscow, Munich, Buenos Aires, Milan (the Teatro alla Scala, where she sang in L'enfant et les sortilèges, 1975), Rome, Prague, Naples, Brussels, Vienna (from 1974 to 1979, in Lucia di Lammermoor and the Queen of Night in Die Zauberflöte), Salzburg, Berlin, Hamburg, London (the Queen of Night at Covent Garden, from 1979 to 1983), Paris, Verona ("Opera for Africa," 1985), Orange, and Japan.Donat made her American debut in 1975, at the San Francisco Opera, as the Queen of Night, opposite Alan Titus and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. In 1981, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in the same role. She returned in 1987, for Constanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, in John Dexter's production. In 1980, she recorded, for RCA, her Queen of Night, with Ileana Cotrubaș, Éric Tappy, Christian Boesch, José van Dam, and Martti Talvela, conducted by James Levine. In 1989, Donat appeared in a film version of Der Schauspieldirektor.As of 2009, Zdzisława Donat-Pajda is Professor Emeritus at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.
1936Jul, 4
Zdzisława Donat
Choose Another Date
Events on 1936
- 7Mar
Treaty of Versailles
Prelude to World War II: In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland. - 29Mar
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
In Germany, Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in a referendum to ratify Germany's illegal remilitarization and reoccupation of the Rhineland, receiving 44.5 million votes out of 45.5 million registered voters. - 9May
Addis Ababa
Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5. - 26Jul
Spanish Civil War
The Axis powers decide to intervene in the Spanish Civil War. - 7Sep
Benjamin the thylacine
The last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial named Benjamin, dies alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.