The career of Romanian soprano Ileana Cotrubas began at the age of nine when she became a member of a children's radio chorus. She made her professional debut 16 years later as Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande. She gained international recognition with her first prize at the IVC in 1965 and Pamina at the opera in Brussels started her international career. She debuted as Tatyana (Eugen Onegin) in Covent Garden in 1971. Her recording of La Traviata with Carlos Kleiber is legendary. She retired from public singing in 1990 but is still very involved with the art form.