Leyla Gencer

[1] Gencer was a notable bel canto soprano who spent most of her career in Italy, from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, and had a repertoire encompassing more than seventy roles.

Her mother, Lexanda Angela Minakovska, was from a Roman Catholic family of the Lithuanian aristocracy (she later converted to Islam and chose the name Atiye after her husband's death.

She was still active as of 2007, and had recently been appointed by La Scala's music director Riccardo Muti to run its school for young artists.

Throughout her career, Gencer was particularly well known for her Donizetti, including Belisario, Poliuto, Anna Bolena, Lucrezia Borgia, Maria Stuarda and Caterina Cornaro.

She appeared in many rarely performed operas, including Smareglia's La Falena, Rossini's Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra, Spontini's Agnese di Hohenstaufen, Pacini's Saffo and Gluck's Alceste.

Gencer rose to international stardom in a short time, singing under some of the greatest Italian maestros, such as Vittorio Gui, Tullio Serafin, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, and Riccardo Muti.

Following her funeral service in San Babila Church and subsequent cremation in Milan, her ashes were brought to Istanbul and scattered in the waters of the Bosphorus on May 16, by famous musician Fazıl Say, according to her wish.

[7] In 2019, IKSV commissioned a film, Leyla Gencer: La Diva Turca, written by Zeynep Oral, which was screened at the Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre.