Leopoldina Figueiredo during a performance at a concert in the Instituto Menezes Braganza hall, Panaji, some time in 1967. (File Photo)
PANAJI
State cultural award winner and one of India's great sopranos of the 20th century, Leopoldina de Figueiredo passed away in Goa. She was 96.
Living a long and illustrious career in music, Leopoldina was known for her exceptional talent from her early childhood, till her retirement in 1990, as an assistant professor at Kala Academy. Music lovers in Goa always remembered her as a legendary singer with a shimmering career in music and singing.
In her 20s, Leopoldina was the first girl in Goa to travel to Italy alone in 1959 on a scholarship from Portugal to study at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome.
She chose to study ‘bel canto’ (Italian for 'beautiful singing') as her course in music in Rome. In Catania, she sang under the baton of Russian maestro Igor Stravinsky and lived her dream of becoming a soprano singer.
She worked hard at her music but had difficult days after Goa was liberated in 1961 and her scholarship was cancelled by Portugal.
Wanting to continue her diploma in music, she did odd jobs such as baby-sitting to fend for herself in the foreign land. Her parents couldn’t support her financially as in those days sending money to a foreign country was not allowed.
Leopoldina joined the philharmonic choir there, earned to pay for her classes. The only Indian among the 33-member ensemble she travelled performing around Europe. The choir sang in Bulgaria and Germany.
In London it sang at the BBC studio and were the first Catholics to sing in Westminster Abbey after four decades. As part of her course, she also gave solo and duet performances in Rome. She accomplished her dream and obtained diploma in ‘bel canto’ in 1964 and managed to return home in May 1965.
After her return she joined the Academia de Musica at Fontainhas in 1966 as assistant professor and continued the same post even after the Academia merged with Kala Academy.
A student at the Presentation Convent, Margao, Leopoldina came from a family that had music in their DNA.
During her training at the Academia de Musica a scholarship programme from Portugal was notified for students who were exceptional in music.
Impressed by her singing skills, the then governor of Goa Vassalo e Silva recommended her name for the scholarship. She was selected and could choose to go either to Portugal or Italy. She chose Italy.
