Opera Singer. A dramatic soprano, she is remembered as the long time Prima Donna of Zagreb's Croatian National Opera. Raised in what was then Yugoslavia, she trained in Zagreb and in 1949 began her professional career as a singer on Radio Zagreb. Branka made her 1958 operatic bow at the Rijeka National Theatre as Santuzza from Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana"; joining the Croatian National Opera the following year, she built her following in such roles as Amelia in Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera", Madeleine of Giordano's "Andrea Chenier", Elisabeth in Verdi's "Don Carlos", Lisa of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades", Tatiana from the same composer's "Eugene Onegin", Leonora of Verdi's "Il Trovatore", Leonore in Beethoven's "Fidelio", Senta from Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman", Micaela in Bizet's "Carmen", the soprano portion of Verdi's "Manzoni Requiem", Yaroslavna from Borodin's "Prince Igor", and the title leads of Puccini's "Tosca" and Verdi's "Aida". Heard in Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and elsewhere, she received the Milka Ternina award in 1963 and retired in 1979. At her death she could be heard on a significant number of 'live' and studio recordings.
Opera Singer. A dramatic soprano, she is remembered as the long time Prima Donna of Zagreb's Croatian National Opera. Raised in what was then Yugoslavia, she trained in Zagreb and in 1949 began her professional career as a singer on Radio Zagreb. Branka made her 1958 operatic bow at the Rijeka National Theatre as Santuzza from Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana"; joining the Croatian National Opera the following year, she built her following in such roles as Amelia in Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera", Madeleine of Giordano's "Andrea Chenier", Elisabeth in Verdi's "Don Carlos", Lisa of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades", Tatiana from the same composer's "Eugene Onegin", Leonora of Verdi's "Il Trovatore", Leonore in Beethoven's "Fidelio", Senta from Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman", Micaela in Bizet's "Carmen", the soprano portion of Verdi's "Manzoni Requiem", Yaroslavna from Borodin's "Prince Igor", and the title leads of Puccini's "Tosca" and Verdi's "Aida". Heard in Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and elsewhere, she received the Milka Ternina award in 1963 and retired in 1979. At her death she could be heard on a significant number of 'live' and studio recordings.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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