Irene Louise Loosberg was born into a musical family on August 9th, 1922 in Tallinn. Here, she completed her secondary education at Elfriede Lenderi Eragümnaasium. As thousands of Estonians did, in 1944, she fled to Sweden. Then, in 1952, she and her family emigrated to Montréal, continuing to Toronto two years later. This was where she studied at The Royal Conservatory of Music, which led to her career in the Canadian Opera Company. As was elucidated in an Eesti Raadio interview with Irene and her husband Paul Loosberg in 2001, her voice not only enthralled those in Estonian diaspora communities, but on prominent stages in North America like Carnegie Hall.
A recording of her singing the aria “O don fatale” (“Oh Fatal Gift”) from Verdi's Don Carlo in the 1960s shows her rich contralto voice, full of mystery, which gracefully glided from low to high notes. Singing the part of Princess Eboli, it's amazing how believably she could convey bitter envy giving way to sorrow and fear.
Among...
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