On the 113th birth anniversary of Maria Cebotari, one of the world’s greatest sopranos, Culture Minister Sergiu Prodan met with Fritz Diessl-Curzon, Cebotari’s youngest son, the writer Rosemarie Killius and academician Aurelian Dănilă.

This was preceded by a presentation of the book titled “Ich lebe, um zu singen” (“I live to sing”) dedicated to the great soprano, an event organized by the Goethe-Zentrum Chisinau in partnership with the Moldovan Union of Musicians.

After the meeting at the Ministry, the guests went to the National History Museum of Moldova, where the death mask of Maria Cebotari was handed over by her son, and which was inaugurated as part of the Museum’s permanent exhibition. Fritz Curzon, who is also a professional photographer, offered the Museum unique photographs, books and personal belongings of the famous soprano.

Maria Cebotari was born in Chisinau on February 10, 1910. At only 24 years old, she received the highest honorary title existing in Germany and Austria at that time – Kammersängerin. The great Richard Strauss composed works especially for Maria Cebotari. The way he sang the operas of Mozart and Strauss has remained unmatched to this day. Maria Cebotari was also an activist. She starred in “Odessa in flames”, an award-winning film that showed the drama of refugees from Bessarabia in the Second World War.