Rachel Yakar – born March 3, 1936, in Lyon, France – was an operatic soprano best known for a repertoire that focused on baroque music. After studying at the Paris Conservatoire and four years of training under dramatic soprano Germaine Lubin, Rachel Yakar made her debut at the Strasbourg Opera in 1963. Moving to Germany in 1964, she joined Deutsche Oper am Rhein, an opera company based in Düsseldorf, and was a member of the ensemble for over 25 years. With this opera company, she performed in many productions including Gluck's Orpheus und Eurydike, Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Verdi's Rigoletto, Puccini's La Bohème, Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, and many others. She also performed on international stages during the 1960s and made her first appearance – in Bizet’s Carmen - at the Palais Garnier (Paris) in 1970. Rachel Yakar was invited to perform at many prestigious festivals located in Bayreuth, Glyndebourne, Edinburgh, Salzburg, and Covent Garden. In 1974, she became a major supporter of the baroque music revival beginning with her performance in Rameau’s Les Indes galantes. She also performed in acclaimed productions of operas written by Monteverdi, Rameau, Handel, Clérambault, Purcell, Lully, and Leclair. In 1980, she participated in a recording of Mozart’s Idomeneo and, for the next few years, performed in other operas including Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (1981), Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte (1985), Mendelssohn’s Paulus (1988), Poulenc’s Le Dialogue des carmélites (1992), and more. She also recorded several albums on her own including L'Heure Exquise (1990) and Fauré – Hahn: French Songs (1998), which featured pianist Claude Lavoix. From 1990 to 1997, she taught singing at the Paris Conservatoire and her students included French soprano Patricia Petibon. After retiring from the stage and her teaching position, she and her husband, tenor Michel Lecocq, lived in Loix on the Île de Ré. Rachel Yakar died on June 24, 2023, at the age of 87.
