Washington/Istanbul - Leyla Gencer, a soprano noted for her performances throughout Italy, died at age 80 Saturday at her home in Milan, Italy, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts said on its website. She died of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest, the organization said.
Gencer studied singing at the Istanbul Conservatory with Italian soprano Giannina Arangi-Lombardi and Apollo Granforte. She made her operatic deubt in 1950 as Santuzza in Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" at the Ankara State Opera.
From 1954 to 1985, she performed more than 70 roles from 34 composers across Italy, ending her stage career with Francesco Gnecco's "La Prova di un'Opera Seria" performance at La Fenice Theatre. But she continued to give concerts until 1992.
She received the Caruso award in 2007 in Italy, and was declared "state artist" in 1988 in Turkey.
Gencer spent her last years in Milan as the artistic director of the Academy of the Teatro alla Scala, where she taught opera interpretation.
The singer supported young singers through the Leyla Gencer voice competition held since 1995 in Istanbul.
Her funeral is slated for Monday, and according to her will, she will be cremated and the ashes spread over the Bosphorus in Ortakoy in Istanbul.
