Italy’s La Scala opera announced over the weekend that soprano Daniela Dessi has died at the age of 59 after what a companion calls a brief, terrible and incomprehensible illness.

Dessi had written her fans last month on Facebook explaining she had to cancel all her summer performances due to an undisclosed health problem.

La Scala says the soprano’s solid technique and rare interpretative sensibility made her one of the most notable figures on the international operatic scene.  She had performed at major opera houses all over the world.