Ileana Cotrubas Has Passed Away
August 20th, 2026 - The Romanian soprano Ileana Cotrubas has passed away. Born in Bucharest, she studied at the conservatory there, and made her operatic debut in 1977 as Yniold in Debussy's PELLEAS ET MELISANDE. Among her earliest roles were Siebel in FAUST, Verdi's Gilda and Oscar, and Mozart's Cherubino and Blondchen.
As her career developed, the soprano added numerous roles - among them Violetta, Pamina, Offenbach's Antonia, Tatyana in EUGENE ONEGIN, Desdemona, and Elisabetta in DON CARLO - to her repertoire. She sang at Salzburg, Glynebourne, Florence, Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, Paris, and La Scala.
Ms. Cotrubas made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mimi in 1977. A favorite of James Levine's, she went on to sing Gilda, Violetta, Tatyana, Ilia in IDOMENEO, and Micaela in CARMEN with the Company; her portrayals of Violetta, Mimi, and - most especially - Tatyana were extraordinarily touching, and moved me deeply.
Her concert repertoire included Bach cantatas and sacred works of Mozart and Haydn. She leaves behind numerous opera and song recordings, and appears in several videos of complete operas.
In addition to Maestro Levine, Cotrubas worked with such master conductors as Kleiber, Giulini, Abbado, Mehta, Muti, Krips, Sir John Pritchard, and Sir Colin Davis.
~ Oberon