Elvira Casazza
Encyclopedia
Elvira Casazza was an Italian mezzo-soprano
opera singer (also known as Elvira Mari-Casazza). One of Toscanini
's favourite singers, she was considered an outstanding interpreter of Mistress Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff
during the 1920s and created several roles in Italian operas of the early 20th century.
and studied in Milan
with Adele Borghi before making her operatic debut as Azucena in Il trovatore
in Sanremo in 1910. During the course of her stage career, she sang throughout Italy as well as in Latin America and Spain. Amongst the roles she created were Dèbora in Pizzetti
's Dèbora e Jaéle
(1922) and the Commandant in Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù
(1925). Known for the extension of her lower register with an almost baritonal
quality to her low notes, she has been described as a contralto
in some sources.
She was married to Umberto Casazza, a violinist from Busseto
and a distant relative relative of the conductor, Giulio Gatti-Casazza
. The couple had one son, Girolamo, who was killed in a plane crash at the outset of World War II. Following the death of her husband a few years later, Casazza retired from the stage with a final performance at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste
in 1947 as Mother in Charpentier
's Louise
. She devoted her later years to teaching singing at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro
and then at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia
in Rome. Elvira Mari-Casazza died in Milan at the age of 80.
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
opera singer (also known as Elvira Mari-Casazza). One of Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
's favourite singers, she was considered an outstanding interpreter of Mistress Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
during the 1920s and created several roles in Italian operas of the early 20th century.
Biography
Casazza was born Elivra Mari in FerraraFerrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
and studied in 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 ,...
with Adele Borghi before making her operatic debut as Azucena in Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
in Sanremo in 1910. During the course of her stage career, she sang throughout Italy as well as in Latin America and Spain. Amongst the roles she created were Dèbora in Pizzetti
Ildebrando Pizzetti
Ildebrando Pizzetti was an Italian composer of classical music.- Biography :Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" along with Ottorino Respighi and Gian Francesco Malipiero. They were among the first Italian composers in some time whose primary contributions...
's Dèbora e Jaéle
Dèbora e Jaéle
Dèbora e Jaéle is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti. Pizzetti also wrote the libretto, which is based on the story of Deborah and Jael from the Book of Judges in the Bible...
(1922) and the Commandant in Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù
I cavalieri di Ekebù
I Cavalieri di Ekebù is an opera composed by Riccardo Zandonai to an Italian libretto by Arturo Rossato. The opera is based on Gösta Berlings Saga by Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf. It was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy on 7 March 1925.-Roles:-Sources:**...
(1925). Known for the extension of her lower register with an almost baritonal
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
quality to her low notes, she has been described as a contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
in some sources.
She was married to Umberto Casazza, a violinist from Busseto
Busseto
Busseto is a comune in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy. It was the capital of Stato Pallavicino. Opera composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in the nearby village of Le Roncole and he moved there in 1824...
and a distant relative relative of the conductor, Giulio Gatti-Casazza
Giulio Gatti-Casazza
Giulio Gatti-Casazza was an Italian opera manager. He was general manager of La Scala in Milan, Italy and later the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.-Life and career:...
. The couple had one son, Girolamo, who was killed in a plane crash at the outset of World War II. Following the death of her husband a few years later, Casazza retired from the stage with a final performance at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
in 1947 as Mother in Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier, , born in Dieuze, Moselle on 25 June 1860, died Paris, 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise.-Life and career:...
's Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
. She devoted her later years to teaching singing at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
and then at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, based in Italy.It is based at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, and was founded by the papal bull, Ratione congruit, issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prominent in Western...
in Rome. Elvira Mari-Casazza died in Milan at the age of 80.
Sources
- Gatti, Guido M., "Casazza-Mari, Elivra", La Musica, Unione tipografico-editrice torinese, 1971, p. 362.
- Lasagni, Roberto (ed.), "Mari, Elvira", Dizionario dei parmigiani (online version), Istituzione Biblioteche del Comune di Parma, 1999.
- Stinchelli, Enrico , Le stelle della lirica: i grandi cantanti della storia dell'opera, Gremese Editore, 2002. ISBN 8884401925
- Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J., "Casazza, Elvira", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 85. ISBN 019311321X