Agni Baltsa (; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.
Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of seven, before moving to Athens in 1958 to concentrate on singing. She graduated from the Greek National Conservatoire in 1965 and then travelled to Munich to continue studying on a Maria Callas scholarship.
Baltsa made her first appearance in an opera in 1968 as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro at Frankfurt Opera, before going on to appear as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera in 1970. Under the guidance of Herbert von Karajan, she became a regular at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. She became Kammersängerin of the Vienna State Opera in 1980.
Her best-known performance is that of Carmen by Georges Bizet, which she has sung a number of times with noted tenors such as José Carreras, Neil Shicoff, and others. She has also sung works by Mozart (notably Così fan tutte), Rossini (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Semiramide, L'italiana in Algeri), Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana), Saint-Saëns (Samson et Dalila), Verdi (Aida, La forza del destino, Il trovatore, Don Carlos), Bellini (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Offenbach (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and Donizetti (Il Campanello, Maria Stuarda).
She starred in the Austrian film Duett in 1992, playing an opera singer.
In 2017, she sang Klytemnestra in Richard Strauss's Elektra at the Greek National Opera's new premises at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.
Awards, Honors, and Memberships
1980: Kammersängerin (Austria) 1988: Honorary member (Vienna State Opera) 1993: Members (European Academy of Arts and Sciences) Prix du Prestige Lyrique Deutscher Schallplattenpreis Gold Medal of the City of Vienna Gold Medal of the City of Athens Wilhelm-Furtwängler Award 2025: Lifetime Achievement Award (International Opera)
Discography
Operas +Year of releaseAlbum detailsContributing artistsLabel1976Mozart: Ascanio in AlbaLilian Sukis, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier, Arleen Augér, Salzburger Kammerchor, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold HagerDG1977Mozart: MitridateArleen Augér, Ileana Cotrubaș, Edita Gruberová, Christine Weidinger, Werner Hollweg, David Kübler, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg, Leopold HagerDG1978Strauss: SalomeHildegard Behrens, Karl-Walter Böhm, José van Dam, Wiesław Ochman, Heljä Angervo, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von KarajanEMI1979Verdi: Don CarlosNicolai Ghiaurov, José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, Mirella Freni, Edita Gruberová, Barbara Hendricks, Chor der Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von KarajanEMI1980Verdi: AidaMirella Freni, José Carreras, Piero Cappuccilli, Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, Katia Ricciarelli, Thomas Moser, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von KarajanEMI1981Massenet: ThérèseFrancisco Araiza, George Fortune, Giancarlo Luccardi, Gino Sinimberghi, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI, Gerd AlbrechtAtlantis1981Ponchielli: La GiocondaMontserrat Caballé, Alfreda Hodgson, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Sherrill Milnes, London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno BartolettiDecca1982Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice Margaret Marshall, Edita Gruberová, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Riccardo MutiEMI1982Donizetti: Il CampanelloEnzo Dara, Carlo Gaifa, Biancamaria Casoni, Angelo Romero, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Symphoniker, Gary BertiniCBS1983Bizet: CarmenJosé Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, José van Dam, Chœurs de l'Opéra de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan Deutsche Grammophon1983Mozart: Così fan tutteMargaret Marshall, Francisco Araiza, James Morris, Kathleen Battle, José van Dam, Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Riccardo Muti EMI (live recording)1983Rossini: The Barber of SevilleThomas Allen, Francisco Araiza, Domenico Trimarchi, Robert Lloyd, Sally Burgess, Matthew Best, John Noble, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville MarrinerPhilips1984Strauss: Der RosenkavalierAnna Tomowa-Sintow, Kurt Moll, Gottfried Hornik, Janet Perry, Wilma Lipp, Heinz Zednik, Kurt Equiluz, Vinson Cole, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von KarajanDeutsche Grammophon1985Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi Edita Gruberová, Gwynne Howell, Dano Raffanti, John Tomlinson, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Riccardo MutiEMI (live recording)1986Mozart: Le nozze di FigaroRuggero Raimondi, Lucia Popp, Barbara Hendricks, José van Dam, Felicity Palmer, Aldo Baldin, Robert Lloyd, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville MarrinerPhilips Classics1986Mozart: Don GiovanniSamuel Ramey, Paata Burchuladze, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Gösta Winbergh, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Alexander Malta, Kathleen Battle, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von KarajanDeutsche Grammophon1986Strauss: Ariadne auf NaxosAnna Tomowa-Sintow, Kathleen Battle, Gary Lakes, Hermann Prey, Otto Schenk, Heinz Zednik, Josef Protschka, Kurt Rydl, Barbara Bonney, Dawn Upshaw, Wiener Philharmoniker, James LevineDeutsche Grammophon1986Strauss II: Die FledermausLucia Popp, Eva Lind, Plácido Domingo, Peter Seiffert, Wolfgang Brendel, Kurt Rydl, Heinz Zednik, Helmut Lohner, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Plácido DomingoEMI1987Verdi: La forza del destinoRosalind Plowright, José Carreras, Renato Bruson, Paata Burchuladze, Juan Pons, John Tomlinson, Jean Rigby, Richard Van Allan, Petteri Salomaa, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe SinopoliDeutsche Grammophon1988Mozart: IdomeneoLuciano Pavarotti, Lucia Popp, Edita Gruberová, Leo Nucci, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir John PritchardDecca1988Rossini: La CenerentolaFrancisco Araiza, Simone Alaimo, Ruggero Raimondi, Carol Malone, Felicity Palmer, John del Carlo, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville MarrinerPhilips Classics1989Wagner: TannhäuserMatti Salminen, Plácido Domingo, Andreas Schmidt, William Pell, Kurt Rydl, Clemens Bieber, Cheryl Studer, Barbara Bonney, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe SinopoliDeutsche Grammophon1989Rossini: L'italiana in AlgeriRuggero Raimondi, Alessandro Corbelli, Frank Lopardo, Enzo Dara, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio AbbadoDeutsche Grammophon1990Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticanaPlácido Domingo, Juan Pons, Susanne Mentzer, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe SinopoliDeutsche Grammophon1990Saint-Saëns: Samson et DalilaJosé Carreras, Jonathan Summers, Simon Estes, Paata Burchuladze, Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin DavisPhilips Classics1990Donizetti: Maria StuardaEdita Gruberová, Iris Vermillion, Francisco Araiza, Simone Alaimo, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Giuseppe PatanèPhilips Classics
References
External links Fan club site
Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks