Soprano Zlata Ognjanovič, née Gašperšič, was born in 1931 in Kropa, as the sixth of twelve children in her family. My father was the director of the Plamen factory in Kropa, and at the same time a great music enthusiast - choir leader, organist, composer - who gladly passed on his love of music to his children. There was already a lot of singing at home, but when Zlata went to study in Ljubljana after the war, she immediately joined the student choir. There, her voice and talent were recognized by the choirmaster prof. Makso Pirnik and sent her to a junior music school, where she became a student of prof. Ksenija Kušej Novak. Under her tutelage, she then attended a high school of music, and later she also completed her university studies.

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During these years,   Zlata started singing in the radio chamber choir, which was led by Milko Škoberne at the time, partly for joy and partly for survival. There she met the bassist Dragiša Ognjanović, her future husband, with whom they often collaborated on the opera stage in later years. Other music editors noticed her singing, and the young singer began to appear regularly in radio studios - she recorded a long series of folk, fake songs and solos with a wide variety of accompaniments. Master Bojan Adamič also heard her in the radio choir and invited her to sing songs, she was also invited to the Avsenik ensemble. But there was no dilemma between musical genres. Zlata made this clear with a collection of Schubert's soliloquies, which she always carried with her.

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After successfully auditioning on the stage of the Ljubljana Opera in 1953, she successfully debuted as Siebel in Gounod's Faust and Cherubino in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Immediately after that, big roles followed. In more than thirty years of opera creation, she portrayed 65 different roles. Among these were:

 

-          WA Mozart: Cosi fan tutte (Fiordiligi)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_   The Marriage of Figaro (Countess)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_   Don Giovanni (Elvira)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_   The Magic Flute (First Lady)

-          H. Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (Belinda)

-          GF Handel: Julij Cezar (Cleopatra)

-          CW Gluck: Orfej in Eurydice (Euridice)

-          GB Pergolesi: Služkinja gospodarica (Serpina)

-          C. Monteverdi: Kronanje Popeye (Octavia)

-          G. Verdi: Fallstaff (Alice)

-          G. Puccini: Giani Schicci (Laureta)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_         La Boheme (Mimi, Musette)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_         Dekle z zahoda (Minnie)

-          E. Wolf-Ferrari : The Four Grobijani (Felice)

-          G. Bizet: Lovci pearls (Leila)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_     Carmen (Michaela)

-          J. Massenet: Manon (Manon)

-          C. Gounod: Faust (Margaret)

-          M. Ravel: Španska Clock (Genovefa)

-          B. Smetana: Prodana bride (Marinka)

-          A. Dvorak: Rusalka (Rusalka, First Fairy, Tuja Knežna)

-          PI Čajkovski: Evgenij Onjegin (Tatyana)

          _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_           _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_    Queen of Spades (Liza)

-          M. Musorgski: Soročinski fair (Parasja)

-          L. Janaček: Jenufa (Jenufa)

-          A. Borodin: Knez Igor (Yaroslavna)

-          R. Strauss: Ariadna on Naxos (Composer)

-          B. Blacher: Romeo and Julia (Julia)

-          C. Orff: Premetenka (Sly)

-          K. Weill: Vzpon and the Fall of Mahogany (Jenny)

-          B. Bartok: Grad Duke Bluebeard (Judit)

-          J. Gotovac: Ero from that world (Djula)

-          R. Simoniti: Partizanka Ana (Ana); baptism performance

-          P. Šivic: Cortezova return (Maria)

-          M. Kozina: Ekvinokcij (Anica)

 

 

 

She also often performed on concert stages as a soloist in vocal-instrumental works such as:

-          WA Mozart: Rekviem

-          J. Brahms: Nemški requiem

-          Faure: Rekviem

-          JS Bach: Maša v H minor

-          G. Mahler: Simfonija no. 4

-          D. Šostakovič: Simfonija no. 14

 

Throughout her singing career, she also engaged in solo singing with special love. Everything from Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Faure, Debussy, Dvorak to Slovenian composers. Among them are S. Osterc, M. Kogoj, P. Švic, M. Lipovšek, A. Srebotnjak, M. Stibilj, R. Simoniti, D. Božič, LM Škerjanc, A. Lajovic, A. Ajdič. also baptized. She always felt that performing Slovenian works was an important part of her mission.

For her artistic contribution, she received the Prešeren Foundation Award, the Župančič Award and the Betetto Award.

After finishing her career, she worked as a teacher for a good decade.

There is still a lot of music around her. His daughter and granddaughter are musicians, which he sees as a great blessing. "If someone has a talent for it and likes to do it, let them do it!"