Emma Trentini
Encyclopedia
Emma Trentini was an Italian
soprano
opera singer who came to the United States
in December 1906.
). Her parents were poor and could not afford to give her money to attain an operatic career. At the age of 12 she was welcomed into the church choir of Mantova. A fund was raised and her mother consented to allow her to go away and study with the renowned Lombardi. She obtained a place at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan
at the age of 14. She studied there for four years and toured Europe
as a performer between seasons. During her travels she met Dame Nellie Melba
, the Australian soprano opera singer. Melba the Great recommended Trentini to Oscar Hammerstein
who was in Paris and searching throughout Europe for new talent. Trentini sang for Hammerstein in Brussels, Belgium. He was impressed by her and she
was extended a five year contract.
. When she came to America she spoke only Italian. Trentini studied English diligently, repeating words and phrases over and over. One difficulty for her was that she sometimes attached an incorrect meaning to a word. An example of this was when she thanked a member of the opera house staff for a favor and uttered Kiss Me instead of Thank You. She said the words again and again until a linguist
corrected her. At that point she fled the room, returning to her hotel to say Thank You repeatedly!
In February 1907 Trentini wore the clothing of an old woman in a production of the comedy opera Il Barbiere di Seviglia by
Gioachino Rossini. In March she appeared in her first true role in America, performing the part of Musetta. The Metropolitan
Opera House audience was both amused and pleased by her rendition of the La Boheme
character.
The same month she became ill for several weeks after going on stage with Melba and Mademoiselle Calve', against the advice of her physician. Trentini made her return in Carmen
, which she entered during the second act on April 17. She played one of the women smugglers. Although the part was a small one, she woke up the next morning with all of New York talking about her.
Trentini continued to play minor roles but her piquant personality made them seem more significant. She made her way on stage in a routine fashion each time, with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes. She approached the kitchen chair in the first entrance at the
Metropolitan Opera House, where the impresario
and Board of Directors were seated. At first she used to request a quarter from Hammerstein, but as time went on, he offered it unsolicited. He placed it in the bodice
of Trentini's dress. She never performed without it being there. She sang at the Manhattan for four years and piled each silver piece with the others in her room.
During her second season at the Metropolitan she was drafted to perform the part of Antonia in Contess d' Hoffman. She did
not know the French (language) but volunteered to learn the role. The following summer she resided in a house in the south of
France
and perfected her French until she was fluent.
Claude Debussy
heard her sing Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande
at the Covent Garden
in London, England. He was enthusiastic and inscribed a photo to mon toute petite Yniold. He also heard her sing in Proseperine by Camille Saint-Saëns
.
Among her more noteworthy roles are performances as Violetta, Nedda in Pagliacci, and Gilda. She appeared in many Italian cities and
Cairo
. Under Hammerstein's management she sang roles in Bal Masque, Louise, The Tales of Hoffman, Thais, and "Pelléas et
Mélisande".
In The Tales of Hoffman she played three characters by an odd turn of events. Trentini was depicting two people
when actor Cavalieri became ill and could not make an evening performance. Hammerstein phoned Trentini and told her the situation. She asked that Cavalieri's part be sent to her. Within one hour of rehearsing she became letter perfect and she sang three roles that night.
, with
whom she was preparing the music of a new part. Hammerstein wanted to change her from a grand opera singer to comic opera vocalist.
When he suggested this she confessed to the writer that she cried for two days. Others followed Hammerstein's lead in wanting Trentini to make the transition. She reconsidered, exclaiming that it would be very nice to be the etoile-une toute petite etoile. In English she meant she believed she could excel as a singular star of comic opera rather than one of many in grand opera.
The English language continued to be a problem for her, though she took eighty lessons in a single season the previous winter. The
difficulty was more pronounced in comic opera which lacked the music to assist a performer. Trentini had never spoken lines at this
point in her opera career. Herbert's comic opera, Naughty Marietta (1910), was set in New Orleans in 1750. In the second act Trentini was
given an opportunity to portray a boy. The opera was adapted from a book by Rita Johnson Young.
The debut of Naughty Marietta was at the Bowery Theatre
on November 7, 1910. Trentini and Orville Harrold
appeared in 136 performances before the production was taken on the road. A dispute between Herbert and Trentini arose when Herbert requested that Trentini perform an encore of the Street Song. Trentini ignored him because she wished to save her voice for the rest of the performance.
The feud between Herbert and Trentini gave composer Rudolf Friml
his first big opportunity. Herbert refused to work with Trentini
so Friml joined with Otto Harbach
to compose The Firefly
(1912) for Trentini. Friml said of Trentini in September 1970: Smartest singer I ever met. She never talked or sang out loud and when she did it was always one octave
lower. She saved her full voice for a real audience.
Enrico Caruso wooed Trentini for sixteen months after which she vowed to marry him in 1911. A portion of
their courtship occurred in Rimini
.
Emma Trentini died in 1959.
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...
opera singer who came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in December 1906.
Early life
She was from Mantova, Italy (MantuaMantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
). Her parents were poor and could not afford to give her money to attain an operatic career. At the age of 12 she was welcomed into the church choir of Mantova. A fund was raised and her mother consented to allow her to go away and study with the renowned Lombardi. She obtained a place at the Teatro alla Scala 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 ,...
at the age of 14. She studied there for four years and toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as a performer between seasons. During her travels she met Dame Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
, the Australian soprano opera singer. Melba the Great recommended Trentini to Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
who was in Paris and searching throughout Europe for new talent. Trentini sang for Hammerstein in Brussels, Belgium. He was impressed by her and she
was extended a five year contract.
Grand opera singer
She performed as a singer with Hammerstein at the Manhattan Opera House. The opera house was built by Hammerstein and opened in 1906. It still stands at 34th Street (Manhattan)34th Street (Manhattan)
34th Street is a major cross-town street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, connecting the Lincoln Tunnel and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Like many of New York City's major crosstown streets, it has its own bus routes and four subway stops serving the trains at Eighth Avenue, the trains at...
. When she came to America she spoke only Italian. Trentini studied English diligently, repeating words and phrases over and over. One difficulty for her was that she sometimes attached an incorrect meaning to a word. An example of this was when she thanked a member of the opera house staff for a favor and uttered Kiss Me instead of Thank You. She said the words again and again until a linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
corrected her. At that point she fled the room, returning to her hotel to say Thank You repeatedly!
In February 1907 Trentini wore the clothing of an old woman in a production of the comedy opera Il Barbiere di Seviglia by
Gioachino Rossini. In March she appeared in her first true role in America, performing the part of Musetta. The Metropolitan
Opera House audience was both amused and pleased by her rendition of the La Boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
character.
The same month she became ill for several weeks after going on stage with Melba and Mademoiselle Calve', against the advice of her physician. Trentini made her return in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, which she entered during the second act on April 17. She played one of the women smugglers. Although the part was a small one, she woke up the next morning with all of New York talking about her.
Trentini continued to play minor roles but her piquant personality made them seem more significant. She made her way on stage in a routine fashion each time, with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes. She approached the kitchen chair in the first entrance at the
Metropolitan Opera House, where the impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
and Board of Directors were seated. At first she used to request a quarter from Hammerstein, but as time went on, he offered it unsolicited. He placed it in the bodice
Bodice
A bodice, historically, is an article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist. In modern usage it typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from...
of Trentini's dress. She never performed without it being there. She sang at the Manhattan for four years and piled each silver piece with the others in her room.
During her second season at the Metropolitan she was drafted to perform the part of Antonia in Contess d' Hoffman. She did
not know the French (language) but volunteered to learn the role. The following summer she resided in a house in the south of
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and perfected her French until she was fluent.
Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
heard her sing Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
at the Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
in London, England. He was enthusiastic and inscribed a photo to mon toute petite Yniold. He also heard her sing in Proseperine by Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
.
Among her more noteworthy roles are performances as Violetta, Nedda in Pagliacci, and Gilda. She appeared in many Italian cities and
Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. Under Hammerstein's management she sang roles in Bal Masque, Louise, The Tales of Hoffman, Thais, and "Pelléas et
Mélisande".
In The Tales of Hoffman she played three characters by an odd turn of events. Trentini was depicting two people
when actor Cavalieri became ill and could not make an evening performance. Hammerstein phoned Trentini and told her the situation. She asked that Cavalieri's part be sent to her. Within one hour of rehearsing she became letter perfect and she sang three roles that night.
Comic opera
A New York Times reporter interviewed her in September 1910 at her West 10th Street apartment. She was in the company of Victor HerbertVictor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
, with
whom she was preparing the music of a new part. Hammerstein wanted to change her from a grand opera singer to comic opera vocalist.
When he suggested this she confessed to the writer that she cried for two days. Others followed Hammerstein's lead in wanting Trentini to make the transition. She reconsidered, exclaiming that it would be very nice to be the etoile-une toute petite etoile. In English she meant she believed she could excel as a singular star of comic opera rather than one of many in grand opera.
The English language continued to be a problem for her, though she took eighty lessons in a single season the previous winter. The
difficulty was more pronounced in comic opera which lacked the music to assist a performer. Trentini had never spoken lines at this
point in her opera career. Herbert's comic opera, Naughty Marietta (1910), was set in New Orleans in 1750. In the second act Trentini was
given an opportunity to portray a boy. The opera was adapted from a book by Rita Johnson Young.
The debut of Naughty Marietta was at the Bowery Theatre
Bowery Theatre
The Bowery Theatre was a playhouse in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City. Although it was founded by rich families to compete with the upscale Park Theatre, the Bowery saw its most successful period under the populist, pro-American management of Thomas Hamblin in the 1830s and 1840s...
on November 7, 1910. Trentini and Orville Harrold
Orville Harrold
Orville Harrold was an American operatic tenor and musical theatre actor. He began his career in 1906 as a performer in operettas in New York City, and was also seen during his early career in cabaret, musical theatre, and vaudeville performances...
appeared in 136 performances before the production was taken on the road. A dispute between Herbert and Trentini arose when Herbert requested that Trentini perform an encore of the Street Song. Trentini ignored him because she wished to save her voice for the rest of the performance.
The feud between Herbert and Trentini gave composer Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml was a composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist. After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer...
his first big opportunity. Herbert refused to work with Trentini
so Friml joined with Otto Harbach
Otto Harbach
Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach was an American lyricist and librettist of about 50 musical comedies...
to compose The Firefly
The Firefly (operetta)
The Firefly is the first operetta written by composer Rudolf Friml, with a libretto by Otto Harbach. The story concerns a young girl, who is a street singer. She disguises herself and serves as a cabin boy on a ship to Bermuda, where she falls in love...
(1912) for Trentini. Friml said of Trentini in September 1970: Smartest singer I ever met. She never talked or sang out loud and when she did it was always one octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
lower. She saved her full voice for a real audience.
Private life
Opera tenorTenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Enrico Caruso wooed Trentini for sixteen months after which she vowed to marry him in 1911. A portion of
their courtship occurred in Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
.
Emma Trentini died in 1959.
External links
- Emma Trentini News Service photo from 1900