Brigida Banti
Encyclopedia
Brigida Giorgi, better known by her husband's surname and her stage-name, as Brigida Banti (1757–1806) was an Italian
soprano
.
, a village in the province of Piacenza
, which is located nearer to Cremona
, in 1756 or possibly in 1758. She is the daughter of Carlo Giorgi, a street mandolin player; she too started her career as a street singer, either following her father around, or, according to different accounts, joining in with the barber cellist Domenico Dragonetti
. The only established fact is that, in 1777–1778, on her travels around southern Europe, she reached Paris where a meeting with an important person in the profession completely was to change her life. However, sources are at variances as to the identity of that person. According to some of them, it was composer Antonio Sacchini
, who quickly trained her and introduced to the Opéra Comique
, while other sources suggest that she caught the attention of Anne-Pierre-Jacques Devismes, the shortly to-be Director of the Académie Royale de Musique, and the Opéra ought to have been the theatre she was engaged for. Details about her Parisian sojourn are scant and uncertain. She moved to London at an undetermined date, and there she met dancer and choreographer Zaccaria Banti, whom she married in Amsterdam
in 1779 and whose surname she adopted as her stage-name.
in 1780, Banti decided to return to Italy when she was engaged at the Teatro San Benedetto
in Venice for the 1782–1783 carnival season. Her performances in the premières of Piramo e Tisbe by Francesco Bianchi
(who was to become her favourite composer), and Attalo, re di Bitinia by Giuseppe Sarti
, as well as in a revival of Bertoni
’s Orfeo ed Euridice were very successful by all accounts, raising enthusiasm in a listener out of the ordinary, such as the Irish tenor Michael Kelly. After Venice, she later sang in Turin
, Milan
, returned to Venice again. Finally, in 1787, she created the role of Sofonisba in the first performance of Bianchi’s Scipione Africano, at Teatro San Carlo in Naples, where she also interpreted operas by Paisiello
, Anfossi
and Guglielmi
. After a mysterious call in Warsaw
in 1789, Banti returned to Venice’s Teatro San Benedetto the same year’s end. She was the first protagonist of Anfossi’s Zenobia in Palmira, which became one of her favourite roles, as well as Semiramide, a character she created in Bianchi’s La vendetta di Nino, at the end of the following year. In June 1792 she took part in the inauguration of the new theatre La Fenice
in Venice, opposite the castrato
Gaspare Pacchierotti
(who exerted a strong artistic influence upon her throughout her career), in the first performance of Paisiello’s I giuochi d’Agrigento.
After a brief season in Madrid
in 1793, from 1794 to 1802 she was engaged, as the first soprano, at London’s King’s Theatre
, where she made her début as Semiramide in La vendetta di Nino. There she met Lorenzo Da Ponte
, who reported she had been vulgar, impudent, dissolute and even a drunkard. Specifically, he said that she was "ignorant, foolish and insolent", and that she "took to theatre, where only her voice had led her, all habitudes, manners and morals of an impudent Corisca". He also credited her with a sexual relationship with William Taylor, manager of the King’s Theatre. After getting back to Italy in 1802 autumn, owing to Elizabeth Billington
’s return to her country, she remained in demand on stage for some years both at La Scala
and at la Fenice. With her health failing, her voice was getting more and more spoilt. She was forced to retire even though it would be very shortly before her premature death, in 1806. So marvellous and so powerful her very voice had been that her corpse was eventually subjected to an autopsy which revealed two extraordinarily large lungs.
Her son Giuseppe would publish a short biography of her, some sixty years later, in 1869.
, agreed in praising her qualities. Mount Edgcumbe, for instance, wrote in his “Musical Reminiscences”: Her voice was of most extensive compass, rich and even, and without a fault in its whole range – a true voce di petto throughout ". She possessed, in fact, an exceedingly powerful voice, with an exquisite timbre and such remarkable flexibility, that she could fearlessly confront any kind of coloratura.
Her singing style, according to sharpest comment by Vigée-Le Brun, was very similar to the castrato Pacchiarotti’s (alongside whom, in fact, Banti happened to be on stage in numberless occasions); which meant she was able to excel at expressive intensity. In spite of her basic theoretical ignorance and her vulgar manners, Banti, owing to her natural talent, succeeded in growing a highly refined cantatrice and was able to shrink from outward appearance, from superficiality, and, in a word, from the decay of vocal taste which marked the 18th century’s second half. Thus, she took her firm stand by the side of those even-aged or younger singers that, by re-establishing the good singing habits of yore, paved the way for Rossini Belcanto
’s near developments.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
.
Obscure beginnings
Her origins are rather obscure and the very data of her birth are very dubious: she is thought to have been born in Crema, Lombardy, but some sources say she may have been born in Monticelli d'OnginaMonticelli d'Ongina
Monticelli d'Ongina is a comune in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 130 km northwest of Bologna and about 20 km east of Piacenza....
, a village in the province of Piacenza
Province of Piacenza
The Province of Piacenza is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Piacenza.The province has 273,689 inhabitants . Its total area is 2,589 km². There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Piacenza...
, which is located nearer to Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, in 1756 or possibly in 1758. She is the daughter of Carlo Giorgi, a street mandolin player; she too started her career as a street singer, either following her father around, or, according to different accounts, joining in with the barber cellist Domenico Dragonetti
Domenico Dragonetti
Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti was an Italian double bass virtuoso and composer. He stayed for thirty years in his hometown of Venice, Italy and worked at the Opera Buffa, at the Chapel of San Marco and at the Grand Opera in Vicenza...
. The only established fact is that, in 1777–1778, on her travels around southern Europe, she reached Paris where a meeting with an important person in the profession completely was to change her life. However, sources are at variances as to the identity of that person. According to some of them, it was composer Antonio Sacchini
Antonio Sacchini
Antonio Maria Gasparo Sacchini was an Italian opera composer.Sacchini was born in Florence, but was raised in Naples, where he received his musical education at the San Onofrio conservatory. He wrote his first operas in Naples, thereafter moving to Venice, then London and eventually Paris, where...
, who quickly trained her and introduced to the Opéra Comique
Opera Comique
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
, while other sources suggest that she caught the attention of Anne-Pierre-Jacques Devismes, the shortly to-be Director of the Académie Royale de Musique, and the Opéra ought to have been the theatre she was engaged for. Details about her Parisian sojourn are scant and uncertain. She moved to London at an undetermined date, and there she met dancer and choreographer Zaccaria Banti, whom she married in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in 1779 and whose surname she adopted as her stage-name.
The great European career
After dropping round in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1780, Banti decided to return to Italy when she was engaged at the Teatro San Benedetto
Teatro San Benedetto
The Teatro San Benedetto was a theatre in Venice, particularly prominent in the operatic life of the city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It saw the premieres of over 140 operas, including Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and was the theatre of choice for the presentation of opera seria until...
in Venice for the 1782–1783 carnival season. Her performances in the premières of Piramo e Tisbe by Francesco Bianchi
Francesco Bianchi (musician)
Giuseppe Francesco Bianchi was an Italian opera composer. Born at Cremona, Lombardy, he studied with Pasquale Cafaro and Niccolò Jommelli, and worked mainly in London, Paris and in all the major Italian operatic scenes, Venice, Naples, Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence.He wrote at least 78 operas of...
(who was to become her favourite composer), and Attalo, re di Bitinia by Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...
, as well as in a revival of Bertoni
Ferdinando Bertoni
Ferdinando Bertoni was an Italian composer and organist.He was born in Salò, and began his music studies in Brescia, not far from his birthplace. Around 1740 he went to Bologna, where he studied till 1745 with the famous music theorist Giovanni Battista Martini...
’s Orfeo ed Euridice were very successful by all accounts, raising enthusiasm in a listener out of the ordinary, such as the Irish tenor Michael Kelly. After Venice, she later sang in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, returned to Venice again. Finally, in 1787, she created the role of Sofonisba in the first performance of Bianchi’s Scipione Africano, at Teatro San Carlo in Naples, where she also interpreted operas by Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and...
, Anfossi
Pasquale Anfossi
Bonifacio Domenico Pasquale Anfossi was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome....
and Guglielmi
Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi
Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi was an Italian opera composer.Guglielmi was born in Massa. He received his first musical education from his father, and afterwards studied under Francesco Durante at the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto at Naples...
. After a mysterious call in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1789, Banti returned to Venice’s Teatro San Benedetto the same year’s end. She was the first protagonist of Anfossi’s Zenobia in Palmira, which became one of her favourite roles, as well as Semiramide, a character she created in Bianchi’s La vendetta di Nino, at the end of the following year. In June 1792 she took part in the inauguration of the new theatre La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
in Venice, opposite the castrato
Castrato
A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's...
Gaspare Pacchierotti
Gaspare Pacchierotti
Gaspare Pacchierotti was a great mezzo-soprano castrato, and one of the most famous singers of his time.-Training and first appearances:...
(who exerted a strong artistic influence upon her throughout her career), in the first performance of Paisiello’s I giuochi d’Agrigento.
After a brief season in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1793, from 1794 to 1802 she was engaged, as the first soprano, at London’s King’s Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
, where she made her début as Semiramide in La vendetta di Nino. There she met Lorenzo Da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte....
, who reported she had been vulgar, impudent, dissolute and even a drunkard. Specifically, he said that she was "ignorant, foolish and insolent", and that she "took to theatre, where only her voice had led her, all habitudes, manners and morals of an impudent Corisca". He also credited her with a sexual relationship with William Taylor, manager of the King’s Theatre. After getting back to Italy in 1802 autumn, owing to Elizabeth Billington
Elizabeth Billington
Elizabeth Billington was a British opera singer born in London, her father being a German clarinetist named Carl Friedrich Weichsel , and her mother Fredericka Weichsel née Weirman , a popular singer. Her brother, Charles Weichsel Elizabeth Billington (1765 or 1768 in London – 25 August 1818 in...
’s return to her country, she remained in demand on stage for some years both at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
and at la Fenice. With her health failing, her voice was getting more and more spoilt. She was forced to retire even though it would be very shortly before her premature death, in 1806. So marvellous and so powerful her very voice had been that her corpse was eventually subjected to an autopsy which revealed two extraordinarily large lungs.
Her son Giuseppe would publish a short biography of her, some sixty years later, in 1869.
Critical response
A real naturally talented phenomenon: this could be Banti’s summary description. Destitute of any musical education (she could not even read music, neither would she ever learn to), she had a terrific ear and used to learn parts by heart just listening to their execution a couple of times. Her contemporaries, from the mentioned tenor Kelly, to the painter Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, to the great connoisseur of singing, Lord Mount EdgcumbeRichard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe PC , styled Viscount Valletort between 1789 and 1795, was a British politician and writer on music.-Background:...
, agreed in praising her qualities. Mount Edgcumbe, for instance, wrote in his “Musical Reminiscences”: Her voice was of most extensive compass, rich and even, and without a fault in its whole range – a true voce di petto throughout ". She possessed, in fact, an exceedingly powerful voice, with an exquisite timbre and such remarkable flexibility, that she could fearlessly confront any kind of coloratura.
Her singing style, according to sharpest comment by Vigée-Le Brun, was very similar to the castrato Pacchiarotti’s (alongside whom, in fact, Banti happened to be on stage in numberless occasions); which meant she was able to excel at expressive intensity. In spite of her basic theoretical ignorance and her vulgar manners, Banti, owing to her natural talent, succeeded in growing a highly refined cantatrice and was able to shrink from outward appearance, from superficiality, and, in a word, from the decay of vocal taste which marked the 18th century’s second half. Thus, she took her firm stand by the side of those even-aged or younger singers that, by re-establishing the good singing habits of yore, paved the way for Rossini Belcanto
Bel Canto
Bel Canto may refer to:*Bel canto, an opera term that literally means "beautiful singing"*Bel Canto , a novel by Ann Patchett*Bel Canto , a Norwegian pop/electronica band*Bel Canto , 2006 Roberto Alagna album...
’s near developments.
Roles created
The following is a list of significant performances of Banti’s career| role | opera | genre | composer | theatre | première’s date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emirena | Attalo Re di Bitinia | dramma per musica Dramma per musica Dramma per musica is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries... (opera seria) |
Giuseppe Sarti | Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto]] | 26 December 1782 |
| Tisbe | Piramo e Tisbe | dramma per musica | Francesco Bianchi | Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto | 3 January 1783 |
| Ippodamia | Briseide | dramma per musica (opera seria) | Francesco Bianchi | Turin, Nuovo Teatro Regio | 27 December 1783 |
| Emira | Amaionne | dramma per musica | Bernardino Ottani | Turin, Nuovo Teatro Regio | 24 January 1784 |
| Arianna | Bacco e Arianna | festa teatrale Festa teatrale The term festa teatrale refers to a genre of drama, and of opera in particular. The genre cannot be rigidly defined, and in any case feste teatrali tend to be split into two different sets: feste teatrali divided by acts are operas, while works in this genre performed without division, or merely... (cantata Cantata A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.... ) |
Angelo Tarchi Angelo Tarchi Angelo Tarchi was an Italian composer of numerous operas as well as sacred music. Between 1778 and 1787, he worked primarily in Italy, producing five or six new operas each year.... |
Turin, Nuovo Teatro Regio | 20 May 1784 |
| Adelina | Il disertore francese | dramma per musica (opera seria) | Francesco Bianchi | Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto | 26 December 1784 |
| Cleofide | Alessandro nell'Indie | dramma per musica (opera seria) | Francesco Bianchi | Venice, Teatro (Gallo) San Benedetto | 28 January 1785 |
| Aricia | Fedra | dramma per musica | Giovanni Paisiello | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 1 January 1788 |
| Debora | Debora e Sisara | azione sacra per musica (oratorio Oratorio An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias... , 1st version) |
Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 13 February 1788 |
| Armida | Il Rinaldo | dramma per musica | Antonio Sacchini and/or Pëtr Alekseevič Skokov | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 4 November 1788 |
| Marzia | Catone in Utica | dramma per musica | Giovanni Paisiello | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 1 January 1789 |
| Erismena | Montezuma | pastiche Pastiche A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:... (dramma per musica) |
Giacomo Insanguine Giacomo Insanguine Giacomo Antonio Francesco Paolo Michele Insanguine was an Italian composer, organist, and music educator.... , Josef Myslivecek Josef Myslivecek Josef Mysliveček was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music... , Gian Francesco de Majo Gian Francesco de Majo Gian Francesco de Majo was an Italian composer. He is chiefly known for his more than 20 operas. He also composed a considerable amount of sacred works, including oratorios, cantatas, and masses.-Life and career:... , Baldassarre Galuppi Baldassarre Galuppi Baldassare Galuppi was an Italian composer, born on the island of Burano in the Venetian Republic. He achieved international success, spending periods of his career in London and Saint Petersburg, but his main base remained Venice, where he held a succession of leading appointments.In his early... and Nicola Zingarelli Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli was an Italian composer, chiefly of opera.-Early career:Zingarelli was born in Naples, where he studied at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory under Fenaroli and Speranza.... |
Venice, Teatro (Venier) San Benedetto | |
| Zenobia | Zenobia di Palmira | dramma per musica (opera seria, 1st version) | Pasquale Anfossi | Venice, Teatro (Venier) San Benedetto | 26 December 1789 |
| Euterpe | L'armonia | cantata | Pasquale Anfossi | Venice, Teatro (Venier) San Benedetto | 11 January 1790 |
| Zenobia | Zenobia in Palmira | dramma per musica | Giovanni Paisiello | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 30 May 1790 |
| Semiramide | La vendetta di Nino | dramma per musica (opera seria, 1st version) | Francesco Bianchi | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 12 November 1790 |
| Pizzarro nelle Indie | opera seria | Marcello Bernardini Marcello Bernardini Marcello Bernardini was an Italian composer and librettist. Little is known of him, save that he wrote 37 operas in his career... “Marcello da Capua” |
Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 23 January 1791 | |
| Emilia | Lucio Papirio | dramma per musica (opera seria) | Gaetano Marinelli | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 30 May 1791 |
| Briseide | Briseide | opera | Ferdinando Robuschi | Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 13 August 1791 |
| Antigona | Antigona | opera seria | Peter von Winter Peter Winter Peter Winter was a German opera composer who followed Mozart and preceded Weber, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera.... |
Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 4 November 1791 |
| Gionata | oratorio (azione sacra scenica) | Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day... |
Naples, Real Teatro San Carlo | 4 March 1792 | |
| Aspasia | I giuochi di Agrigento | dramma per musica (1st version) | Giovanni Paisiello | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice (inauguration) | 16 May 1792 |
| Astasia | Tarara o sia La virtù premiata | dramma per musica (opera seria) | Francesco Bianchi | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | 26 December 1792 |
| Ines | Ines de Castro | dramma per musica | Giuseppe Giordani Giuseppe Giordani Giuseppe Giordani was an Italian composer, mainly of opera.He was born in Naples, where he studied music with Domenico Cimarosa and Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli. In 1774 he was appointed as music director of the chapel of the Duomo of Naples. His first opera was released in 1779... "Giordaniello” |
Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | 28 January 1793 |
| Zenobia | Zenobia | dramma per musica (opera seria) | Richard Mount-Edgcumbe Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe PC , styled Viscount Valletort between 1789 and 1795, was a British politician and writer on music.-Background:... |
London, King's Theatre in the Haymarket | 22 May 1800 |
| Ines | Ines de Castro | dramma serio per musica | Vittorio Trento | Leghorn, Imperial Regio Teatro degli Avvalorati | 9 November 1803 |
| Clearco (en travesti) | I riti d'Efeso | dramma eroico per musica | Giuseppe Farinelli Giuseppe Farinelli Giuseppe Farinelli was an Italian composer active at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century who excelled in writing opera buffas... |
Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | 26 December 1803 |
| Arsace (en travesti) | Arsace e Semira | dramma eroico (opera seria) | Francesco Gnecco | Venice, Teatro alla Fenice | |
Sources
Lorenzo Da Ponte, Memorie, Bari, G. Laterza, 1918, now available free in a digital edition c/o Università degli studi di Roma La Sapienza (Biblioteca Italiana); original title: Memorie di Lorenzo da Ponte da Ceneda scritte da esso (New York, 1823–27, enlarged 2/1829-30) Rodolfo Celletti, La Grana della Voce. Opere, direttori e cantanti, Baldini&Castoldi, Milan, 2000 Rodolfo Celletti, Storia del belcanto, Discanto Edizioni, Fiesole, 1983 Salvatore Caruselli (ed), Grande enciclopedia della musica lirica, vol. 4, Longanesi &C. Periodici S.p.A., Roma- Stanley Sadie (ed), The new Grove Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press, 1992, vol. 4, ad nomen Harold Rosenthal e John Warrack, Dizionario dell’opera lirica, vol. 2, Firenze, Vallecchi editore, 1974 (Original title: The concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press, 1964, 1966, 1972), ad nomen
- This article is a substantial translation from Brigida Banti in the Italian Wikipedia.