Cathy Berberian

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Cathy Berberian
Cathy Berberian in 1972
Born	Catherine Anahid Berberian (1925-07-04)July 4, 1925 Attleboro, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	March 6, 1983(1983-03-06) (aged 57) Rome, Italy
Education	Columbia University Milan Conservatory
Occupation	Operatic mezzo-soprano
Spouse	Luciano Berio ​ ​ (m. 1950; div. 1964)​
Children	1

Catherine Anahid Berberian (July 4, 1925 – March 6, 1983) was an American mezzo-soprano^[1] and composer based in Italy. She worked closely with many contemporary avant-garde music composers, including Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Sylvano Bussotti, Darius Milhaud, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, and Igor Stravinsky. She also interpreted works by Claudio Monteverdi, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Kurt Weill, Philipp zu Eulenburg and others. As a recital curator, she presented several vocal genres in a classical context, including arrangements of songs by The Beatles by Louis Andriessen as well as folk songs from several countries and cultures. As a composer, she wrote Stripsody (1966), in which she exploits her vocal technique using comic book sounds (onomatopoeia), and Morsicat(h)y (1969), a composition for the keyboard (with the right hand only) based on Morse code.