Zdzisława Donat
Zdzisława Donat-Pajda is a Polish coloratura soprano. She studied in Warsaw and Siena, where she was a pupil of Gino Bechi.
In 1964, Donat debuted in Poznań, as Gilda in Rigoletto, and later appeared in many international opera houses, including those in Toulouse, Helsinki, Warsaw, Moscow, Munich, Buenos Aires, Milan, Rome, Prague, Naples, Brussels, Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Hamburg, London, Paris, Verona, Orange, and Japan.
Donat made her American debut in 1975, at the San Francisco Opera, as the Queen of Night, opposite Alan Titus and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. In 1981, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in the same role. She returned in 1987, for Constanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, in John Dexter's production. In 1980, she recorded, for RCA, her Queen of Night, with Ileana Cotrubaș, Éric Tappy, Christian Boesch, José van Dam, and Martti Talvela, conducted by James Levine. In 1989, Donat appeared in a film version of Der Schauspieldirektor.
As of 2009, Zdzisława Donat-Pajda is Professor Emeritus at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.Videography
