Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi
Encyclopedia
Gabrielle Ritter-CiampiGabrielle Ritter-Ciampi (born in Paris November 2, 1886 - died July 18, 1974, was a French
operatic soprano
.
Initially trained to be a pianist by her uncle Theodore Ritter, at age 16 she started to receive singing lessons from her parents; her Italian
father, tenor
Enzo Ciampi-Cellai; and French mother, Cécile Ritter-Ciampi. She debuted in 1917 as Violetta in La Traviata
, and two years later she was engaged at Opéra-Comique
, where she became famous as an interpreter in Mozart operatic roles. Her activity was centered predominantly in France, but she took part also in the Salzburg Festival
in 1932, again in Mozart's roles.
She was considered a fine, light lyric soprano
with good technique and is capable of reaching high notes easily, frequently compared to her days with Adelina Patti
, who had a similar voice.
She did most of her recordings between 1923 and 1929, and recorded many selected arias from various works, but never complete operas. She also sang the title role in Esclarmonde
during Opéra Garnier, a short-lived revival of that opera between 1931 and 1934
Her career practically ended with World War II, with her last engagement being a role in an operetta by Reynaldo Hahn
, Le oui des jeunes filles, in 1949.
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...
operatic 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...
.
Initially trained to be a pianist by her uncle Theodore Ritter, at age 16 she started to receive singing lessons from her parents; her Italian
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...
father, tenor
Tenor
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...
Enzo Ciampi-Cellai; and French mother, Cécile Ritter-Ciampi. She debuted in 1917 as Violetta in La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, and two years later she was engaged at Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
, where she became famous as an interpreter in Mozart operatic roles. Her activity was centered predominantly in France, but she took part also in the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
in 1932, again in Mozart's roles.
She was considered a fine, light lyric soprano
Lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have...
with good technique and is capable of reaching high notes easily, frequently compared to her days with Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
, who had a similar voice.
She did most of her recordings between 1923 and 1929, and recorded many selected arias from various works, but never complete operas. She also sang the title role in Esclarmonde
Esclarmonde
Esclarmonde is an opéra in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont....
during Opéra Garnier, a short-lived revival of that opera between 1931 and 1934
Her career practically ended with World War II, with her last engagement being a role in an operetta by Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
, Le oui des jeunes filles, in 1949.