Leyla Gencer of Ayşe Leyla Çeyrekgil (Istanbul, October 10, 1928 - Milan, May 10, 2008) was a world-famous Turkish soprano opera singer. In the opera world, she was also known as "La Diva Turca" (The Turkish Diva) and "La Regina" (The Queen).
Leyla Gencer was born in Istanbul as the daughter of a Turkish father and a Polish mother. She appeared in the belcanto repertoire, especially in the Donizetti opera. During the fifties she was in the shadow of Maria Callas, but in the sixties she was able to enjoy growing fame and appreciation. Gencer repeatedly expressed a positive opinion about Callas and followed her example with continued interpretations of dramatic roles. Gencer was one of the twelve diva interviewed by Stefan Zucker in Opera Fanatic. Unlike the academic vocal style based on maximum use of the diaphragm, Gencer has always promoted the use of breaststem to give more vocal performance.
Gencer gave up to the Milan Scale in the 1990s and was often interviewed as an expert of the Italian opera.
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