Lucia Bercescu-Țurcanu, also known as Lucia Turcano or Turkano (born Lucia Bercescu, March 27, 1911 – June 26, 1995), was a Romanian and American soprano. A native of Bucharest, she was trained as an opera singer in that city, also performing folk music and recording romances. She made her debut at the Romanian National Opera in 1939 where she was a leading prima donna until 1946. There she met and married the opera conductor Constantin Țurcanu with whom she frequently collaborated. She also worked regularly at the Vienna Volksoper during World War II, and performed with the Bucharest Radio Orchestra in Croatia. The Țurcanus were in Bucharest after the anti-fascist coup of August 1944, though Lucia spent some time touring the Hungarian Republic with acclaimed versions of Aida and Madame Butterfly. She also performed at galas organized by left-wing groups, including the Romanian Communist Party, but overall resented Romania's communization; the Țurcanus emigrated in 1947, selling their belongings.
Bercescu-Țurcanu was a leading soprano in Italy's major opera houses in the late 1940s. Her husband worked as a conductor at La Scala while she was prima donna there from 1946 to 1949. In 1949 the Țurcanus came to the United States at the invitation of opera impresario Alfredo Salmaggi on a temporary visa. They were active with American opera companies into the early 1950s. Not wishing to return to communist-aligned Romania, they stayed in the United States under tenuous circumstances in which deportation was a possibility. They ultimately became American citizens in 1954 when a federal bill written on their behalf was signed into law by American president Dwight D. Eisenhower. In addition to working as a musician, Lucia supported her husband's work in the United States as an ordained priest in the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Bercescu-Țurcanu also worked as a voice teacher in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Detroit, Michigan. She and her husband returned to Romania in 1963, where she resumed her opera and concert career, while Constantin composed and conducted until his death ten years later. Lucia's own career ended when she was blacklisted by the communist authorities; though still referred to as one of Romania's greatest voices, she could no longer appear on the stage. She lived through the fall of communism, after which she was honored publicly by other members of her profession. She died in Bucharest in 1995, aged 84.
Early life and debut Lucia Bercescu was born in Bucharest, capital of the Romanian Kingdom, on March 27, 1911. In April 1930, she was mentioned in Rampa journal as one of the eminent students at Egizio Massini's music school. She then studied with voice teachers Demetru Baziliu and Elena Saghin at the Bucharest Conservatory. Her professional opera debut occurred at the Romanian National Opera, Bucharest (RNOB) in 1939 where she first appeared as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust. She was offered a longterm contract at that theatre by George Georgescu immediately following this performance. Credited as "Miss Lucia Bercescu", she sang at a March 1939 concert organized by the State Railways at Gara de Nord. She also appeared at a Straja Țării-organized concert for Christmas, with a recital of Romanian folk songs. Not long after this she met and married opera conductor Constantin Țurcanu (sometimes given as Constantino Turcano).
Now billed as Lucia Bercescu-Țurcanu, she was a principal soprano at the RNOB from 1939 to 1946. According to journalist Scarlat Răutu she was initially sidelined at the theatre in her twenties, being limited to the role of Marguerite. Răutu observed that this was especially unfair, given that she embodied a national prototype, the "Dacian" woman—whose on-stage persona combined "Levantine sensuality" and "Scandinavian nostalgia." Composer Mihail Jora similarly commented that the RNOB had used her rarely, "perhaps out of pettiness", but that this had unwittingly conserved her pitch. At the time, she was doing work for the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company, which aired her rendition of various romances in June 1940. During early 1941, she was cast as Princess Ruxandra in Alexandru Zirra's new opera, Alexandru Lăpușneanu. Jora was especially impressed with her, calling hers "the most beautiful female voice ever to have graced the Romanian Opera." In December, Zirra's work was also staged at the National Theater Bucharest. In his review of that production, Alexandru Anestin noted that she had been outstanding in the "extremely hard role" of Ruxandra. In tandem, she was cast as Countess Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
This period coincided with World War II and, at home, with the establishment of Ion Antonescu's dictatorship. On June 5, 1941, Bercescu-Țurcanu performed alongside Maria Tănase at a Council of Patronage benefit-show, also attended by Antonescu's wife Maria. In December, after Romania had entered the war as an ally of Nazi Germany, she sang one of her husband's doine at a ceremony honoring the Wehrmacht; held at the Romanian Atheneum, this function was also attended by Georgescu, Manfred Freiherr von Killinger, and Ion Marin Sadoveanu. In June 1942, she toured nationally with Alexandru Lăpușneanu, reaching Brașov. A local critic, Lia Busuioceanu, admired her "golden voice" and her physique, but noted that her diction needed improvement.
First European breakthroughs During her early thirties, Bercescu-Țurcanu was a guest artist at several locations in Nazi-occupied Europe. She thus worked at the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) and the . She also made multiple appearances at the Vienna Volksoper; her debut at that theatre was as Verdi's Aida in September 1942 (with Josef Gostic as Radamés and Georgescu as conductor), though Răutu believes that it may have been as Floria in Puccini's Tosca. Heinrich Damisch of the Kronen Zeitung observed that the production was a "resounding success", with Bercescu-Țurcanu "instantly [elevated] to diva status, now a star of the theatrical firmament." Writing for the Wiener Montagblatt, Richard Soukup described this Aida as an "intoxicatingly beautiful polyphony of the most beautiful voices", adding: "[Bercescu-Țurcanu is] less of a striking presence, but as an emotional voice... hers is full of color and soul, secure and clear". Her appearances in that role were interrupted later that month, when she became seriously ill and had to undergo surgery in Nazified Austria.
In October 1942, Bercescu-Țurcanu sang for a charity event (Servus-Konzert) in Vienna, celebrating the German–Romanian friendship. She was Aida in a new Volksoper version, which began in early 1943 after Georgescu's departure; Dinu Bădescu did Radamés, singing his role in Romanian. According to Răutu, her time at the Volksoper meant that she could no longer be sidestepped at RNOB, allowing her to have a diverse repertoire. New roles in Bucharest included Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin, Verdi's Leonora in Il trovatore and Violetta in La traviata, and the title roles in Aida and Tosca. Other roles she performed during her early career included Agathe in Weber's Der Freischütz (rated by critic Romeo Alexandrescu as one of the most memorable opera acts of 1943) and Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
In January 1944, the Țurcanus were in the Independent State of Croatia with the Bucharest Radio Orchestra. In celebration of the Day of Unification, they performed live on Radio Zagreb; the compositions used in the recital were by Constantin Brăiloiu, George Enescu, and Constantin Țurcanu himself. Returning to the HNK, Lucia reprised her Aida to a reported "jam-packed hall". During May, she appeared in a Tosca performance alongside the Cluj Opera Company, which had relocated to Timișoara after the Second Vienna Award. A local critic panned the show: while Bercescu-Țurcanu had delighted the public with her acting, as well as with "her vocal quality and intensity", "the blatant awkwardness of the local Opera's soloists and choir members has continuously robbed [spectators] of even a visual pleasure".
Communization era
In July 1944, just before the Soviet penetration into Romania, it was announced that Bercescu-Țurcanu and her colleagues at the RNOB were going on an extended tour of the provinces. Her team was set to sing in places from Pucioasa to Hațeg. On August 17, six days ahead of the anti-fascist coup in Bucharest, she performed at the Petroșani workers' casino. In October, she and the entire RNOB could return to Soviet-occupied Bucharest, resuming performances of Tosca. She was again praised, including by the România Liberă, a central organ of the Communist Party (PCR). Its house critic, E. Vergu, only observed that the stagecraft was antiquated, and that Bercescu-Țurcanu's facial expressions were "rather overdone". On November 5, she performed at a RNOB festival honoring the Red Army.
Forming the Enescu Chamber Orchestra around the same time, Constantin Țurcanu had Lucia employed as its soloist. After a concert they held in February 1945, Universul paper declared that she was also the orchestra's animator, driven by her "overwhelming vocal dedication". By early 1946, both husband and wife had returned to the Radio Orchestra, and were giving new concerts. In the PCR daily, Scînteia, Edgar Elian praised Constantin as a hard-working conductor, and upheld Lucia as a guiding light of classical music in her relatively young generation. On her own, Bercescu-Țurcanu was touring with Puccini's Madame Butterfly, in which she had the lead role of Cio-Cio-San. Her travels had ended by July, when she sued her impresario, Mihail Ghidionescu, over outstanding fees.
From January 1946, Bercescu-Țurcanu appeared as Rachel in Halévy's La Juive, produced by the RNOB. The premiere was attended by the Prime Minister of Romania, Petru Groza, accompanied by the Soviet Ambassador, Sergey Kavtaradze. Groza personally congratulated her and the other performers, adding his musings about the communists' "exceptional care regarding artistic manifestations for the masses, [as] a focus that is currently brought to the forefront far more prominently than in bygone days." In the Jewish community weekly, Unirea, a critic noted that she was still Romania's "best dramatic soprano", who could expect to triumph anywhere in the world. Also that month, Bercescu-Țurcanu appeared as a guest performer at the Socialist Group for Art and Culture, which was a cultural branch of the Social Democratic Party (itself part of the governing coalition), and at the PCR's own commemoration of Romain Rolland.
Hungarian tour and Italian departure In March 1946, while becoming a regular entertainer at PCR conferences, Bercescu-Țurcanu joined Aura Buzescu, Pál Jávor and George Vraca in performing at a Bucharest gala, which promoted Hungaro–Romanian cooperation; the show was overseen by Dezső Keresztury. In April, she went on an acclaimed tour of the Hungarian Republic—as part of an artists' exchange between the RNOB and the Hungarian State Opera House. After her first performances there, critic Endre Gaál commented: "Budapest will learn the name Lucia Bercescu in no time. This Aida with her twinkling eyes, blessed with magnificent acting skills, seems to be a universal singer." Composer Sándor Jemnitz was similarly encouraging, declaring her "a phenomenal voice" of "hot, burning, sincere passion", her acting a "trance [that] captivates and intoxicates her audience." Her Cio-Cio-San impressed and inspired a local soprano, Irén Szecsődi, who recalled: "It was a wonderful performance! It was then that I first felt that I was experiencing the same thing in myself as a stage character interpreted by an excellent artist."