Opera Scotland

Eugenia Zareska Suggest updates

Born Rawa Ruska (Lemberg), 8 November 1910.

Died Paris, 5 October 1970.

Polish mezzo-soprano.

Eugenia Zareska trained in Lvov, Vienna and Milan. Her first appearance at La Scala, as Dorabella, came in 1941. She later worked at the festivals in Aix-en-Provence, Florence and Venice.

Her British debut, in 1947, was in Jay Pomeroy's company at the Cambridge Theatre, London, as Rosina. She sang Dorabella with the Glyndebourne company at the 1948 Edinburgh Festival. From 1948 to 1958 she appeared a number of times at Covent Garden, notably as Carmen. She lived in London for several years from 1952.

There are several important recordings. These include the first of Boris Christoff's versions of Boris Godunov, conducted by Issay Dobrowen in 1951. Christoff sings Boris, Pimen and Varlaam. Nicolai Gedda sings Grigory. Zareska doubles Marina and Feodor. She also sings the title role in a classic French recording of Offenbach's La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein, conducted by René Leibowitz.