Masterclass with Julia Varady

Filmed by Bruno Monsaingeon, impassioned and head-spinning lessons given by the legendary soprano Julia Varady.

Julia Varady is a legend. She is all the more so since she has never exposed herself to the media and her recording career has never matched the measure of her talent. Born in Romania in 1941, she was trained at the hard school of the troupes of the Bucharest and Budapest operas and became the bright star that was to inflame the international lyrical scene when she moved to West Germany in 1970. She married the baritone Dietrich Fischer Dieskau and pursued an exceptional career thanks to a voice of amazing amplitude, intensity and dramatic temperament.

In 1998, at the age of 57, the singer who had sung more than seventy roles in forty years bid farewell to the stage in spite of her voice remaining intact. To replace the stage that she missed so much she decided to teach. In 2007, Bruno Monsaingeon planted his camera at her home in Berlin and captured extraordinary moments of the soprano transmitting her art. From the Gioconda by Ponchielli to the Barber of Seville by Rossini, from Carmen by Bizet to Werther by Massenet, she dedicates herself wholly to the parts, solving technical problems, insisting on every expressive detail and singing in full voice with her students.

"I tell my pupils: "Embrace the audience with your voice." Thanks to this fascinating document by Bruno Monsaingeon, she continues to embrace us. Thank you Julia!