Known as "La Diva Turca" in Western countries, the soprano Leyla Gencer was a Turkish state opera singer who has performed on the world's most important opera stages. She is considered one of the most important sopranos of the 20th century.
The artist, whose real name is Ayse Leyla Ceyrekgil, was born on 10th of October 1928 in Polonezköy, Istanbul. Her mother, Alexandra Angela Minakovska, came from a Polish aristocratic family, and her father was Hasanzade Ibrahim Cekrekgil from Safranbolu, who came from a wealthy and well-established family. After marrying Ibrahim Bey, her mother converted to Islam and took the name Atiye.
Gencer lost her father at a young age. After graduating from Istanbul Italian High School, she started working at the Beyazit Library and continued her education at the Istanbul University State Conservatory, which was called the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory at the time. Gencer moved to Ankara in 1949 as a guest of the world-famous Italian soprano opera singer Giannina Arangi-Lombardi. She began performing on opera stages from 1950 onwards. Until 1958, she performed as a soprano in official events given to state guests such as US Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi and his wife Sureyya, King Hussein of Jordan, and Marshal Tito, the founding leader of Yugoslavia. In 1953, she was assigned to give a recital in Rome. In 1957, she began performing at the La Scala Opera in Milan and was the leading artist of this stage for 25 years. Giving concerts in many countries, Gencer's repertoire includes 72 works by 23 composers. She retired from opera in 1985 and was given the title of "State artist" by Turkey in 1988.
Until her death at the age of 79 due to heart failure in 2008, she continued as the artistic director of the academy established for opera singers at La Scala and gave lessons and seminars in Ankara and Istanbul. According to Leyla Gencer's will, her body was cremated in USA and her ashes were scattered into the waters of the Bosphorus off the coast of Dolmabahce in Istanbul.