Ewa Podleś has died.
❝Ewa Podleś (1952-2024)
The Polish contralto Ewa Podleś, whose powerful yet supremely agile voice was a force of nature, has died in Warsaw aged 71.
[…]
Endowed with a three-octave range and a cavernous chest-register which could cut effortlessly across a full orchestra, Podleś excelled in dramatic Rossini assignments such as Tancredi, Arsace in Semiramide, and the title-role in Ciro in Babilonia, and as Handel's Orlando, Bertarido (Rodelinda), Polinesso (Ariodante) and Rinaldo.
[…]
On the concert-platform, Podleś was renowned for her interpretations of Russian and Polish song repertoire, frequently championing music by her compatriots Lutosławski, Szymanowski and Penderecki. She often performed and recorded with her husband, the Polish pianist Jerzy Marchwiński, whom she survived by just two months.
Podleś died of lung cancer on 19th January, and is survived by her daughter Mari Madej and step-daughter Ania Marchwinska, who announced her death earlier this week.❞
— https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/articles/5732--obituary-ewa-podle-1952-2024
71 - way too young. And she only retired from performing six years ago! She was still teaching …
I am not overstating things by saying she was one of the greatest contraltos who ever lived. May angels sing her to the eternal concert hall.
