Above: Elena Cernei as Amneris
You never forget your first Amneris; mine happened to be Elena Cernei, a comely Romanian mezzo-soprano with a marvelous chest-register. My first AIDA came during the Met’s second season at Lincoln Center, on December 27th, 1967; Ms. Cernei’s colleagues were Gabriella Tucci, Flaviano Labo, Mario Sereni, and Bonaldi Giaiotti, with Thomas Schippers on the podium.
Born in 1924, Ms. Cernei studied at Bucharest. She joined the Romanian National Opera in 1952, singing there thru 1977. She also sang at La Scala, Paris, Barcelona, Brussels, Mexico City, and at the Bolshoi.
She debuted at The Met in 1965 as Dalila; her other Met roles were Amneris, Maddalena in RIGOLETTO, the Princesse de Bouillon in ADRIANA LECOUVREUR, and Carmen.
Ms. Cernei’s repertoire further included Azucena, both Laura and La Cieca in LA GIOCONDA, Ulrica, Rossini’s Arsace, and Gluck’s Orfeo. She was named an Honored Artist of the Republic of Romania. Upon retiring from the stage, she lived and taught at Rome. She passed away in 2000, and a commemorative postage stamp was issued in her honor.
Elena Cernei sings the Séguédille from Bizet’s CARMEN here.
And here’s a sampllng of her Dalila:
Oberon's Glade 