Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer, one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century who made her career at Italy's La Scala, has died of heart failure in Milan, Italy. She was 80. The singer was known as La Diva Turca or the Turkish Diva.

  Gencer was born in Istanbul in 1928, to a Polish mother and a Turkish father. She cut short her studies at the Istanbul conservatory in favor of private tutorials from Italian opera singer Giannina Arangi Lombardi in Ankara. She won international recognition after her debut in 1957 at La Scala Theater in Milan as Madame Lidoine in the world premiere of Poulenc's "Les Dialogues des Carmelites."

  Her repertoire during a career spanning some 30 years included more than 70 roles. At La Scala, she was cast as The First Woman of Canterbury in the world premier of Pizzeti's "L'Assasinio nella Cattedralle" (Murder in the Cathedral). A debut at the Royal Opera House, in London, came in 1962 when she performed Elisabetta in "Don Giovanni."

  After retiring from opera in 1985, the singer devoted herself to discovering and training young talent. An annual Turkish-sponsored voice competition is named after her.

'One of the most emotional voices'

  La Scala expressed "immense sorrow" over Gencer's death and said the singer had "one of the most emotional voices of any time." It said her performances at La Scala had provided "years of unrepeatable splendor."

  In his statement on the death of Gencer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "The death of Leyla Gencer, who represented Turkey on the world stage with her especial personality, is not only a loss of Turkey but the world of art."

  "Leyla Gencer, a world artist, had become our honor in the international scene and has inscribed her name on the history of opera," said Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay.

  "Turkish opera, the international art world, have lost a great personality. She was one of the most important opera singers of the 20th century," said Rengim Gökmen, director of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet. "Even if in her final years she was not able to go on stage, she became a leader for Turkish opera stars and trained them," Gökmen said. "We owe her a lot."

  Gencer's funeral ceremony will be held in Milan today, after which her body will be cremated in line with her will. Her ashes will then be brought to Istanbul and scattered over the Bosporus.