The soprano Elizette Bayan (1938–2025), born in Viseu, began her musical training studying piano and voice with her mother, Lúcia Mafalda de Magalhães Melo Bayan. She later continued her studies at the Conservatório Nacional in the class of Ans Biermann. In 1967, she furthered her training at the Mozarteum University of Music and Performing Arts in Salzburg (Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst «Mozarteum») and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, specializing in opera, Lied, and oratorio with Liselote Egger, Viorica Krauss-Ursuleac, Robert Wagner, Géza Rech, R. Kuppelwieser, Michael Dimann, Paul von Shilavski, and Gino Bechi, among others.¹
She made her debut at the Teatro da Trindade in 1967 in the role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini, and subsequently performed regularly at that theater, at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos—where she was a principal resident singer between 1972 and 1992—at the Teatro de São Luís, the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon, the Coliseu do Porto, and the Teatro Rivoli, as well as on major international stages in opera performances, recitals, and concerts, collaborating with leading musicians.²
She also took part in the premieres of works by Joly Braga Santos, Jorge Croner de Vasconcelos, and António Victorino d’Almeida. In 1969, she was awarded the Mozart Prize in Salzburg, and in 1971 she received the Prémio Tomás Alcaide, the Prémio de Imprensa, and the Prémio Pró-Arte.³
