MUSIC

Romanian lyric soprano Ileana Cotrubas, one of the world’s leading opera singers, announced her retirement on Friday from the stage at London’s Royal Opera House during a rehearsal. An opera house news release said Cotrubas, 50, plans to hold farewell concerts in opera houses with which she has special relationships before taking up a new career as a singing teacher. Cotrubas, who lives in Monte Carlo, was one of the most vocally and dramatically versatile artists to emerge in the 1960s. She has had opera engagements throughout Europe, the United States and Japan since then. “I always intended to retire early, rather than too late. All my operatic ambitions have been fulfilled and I really have no further interest in performance,” the singer told a reporter. “What I want to do now is pass on some of my knowledge to younger singers.”