Rosetta Pampanini
Encyclopedia
Rosetta Pampanini was an Italian soprano
, particularly associated with Puccini
roles, especially Madama Butterfly
.
Pampanini was born in Milan
. She began singing as a child, and later studied with Emma Malajoli. She made her stage debut in 1920, at the Teatro Nazionale in Rome, as Micaela
, and in Turin in 1921, as Siebel
. After further studies, she made her debut at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, as Desdemona
, in 1923, and sang the following year Elsa
in Bergamo. Noticed by conductor Arturo Toscanini
, she made her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, as Madama Butterfly, in 1925, and appeared there until 1937.
Afterwards she began singing at all the major opera houses of Europe; the Monte Carlo Opera in 1927, the Royal Opera House
in London, from 1928 to 1933, the Liceu
in Barcelona and the Vienna State Opera
in 1930, the Lyric Opera of Chicago
from 1931 to 1932, and the Paris Opéra
in 1935. She also appeared in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
A great Puccini interpreter, especially as Madama Butterfly, she also sang Manon Lescaut
, La bohème
, Tosca
, and Liu in Turandot
, also Mascagni
's Il piccolo Marat
and Iris
, and Nedda in Leoncavallo
's Pagliacci
. Though essentially a lyric soprano, she occasionally sang a few spinto
Verdi
roles such as Leonora
and Aida
, and also Giordano
's Maddalena
and Fedora.
She retired from the stage in 1946, and turned to teaching. Among her pupils was British soprano Amy Shuard
. Pampanini died in Rovigo
, aged 76.
She was the aunt of Silvana Pampanini
, a famous Italian actress.
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...
, particularly associated with Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
roles, especially Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
.
Pampanini was born 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 ,...
. She began singing as a child, and later studied with Emma Malajoli. She made her stage debut in 1920, at the Teatro Nazionale in Rome, as Micaela
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...
, and in Turin in 1921, as Siebel
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
. After further studies, she made her debut at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, as Desdemona
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, in 1923, and sang the following year Elsa
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
in Bergamo. Noticed by conductor Arturo 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...
, she made her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, as Madama Butterfly, in 1925, and appeared there until 1937.
Afterwards she began singing at all the major opera houses of Europe; the Monte Carlo Opera in 1927, the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London, from 1928 to 1933, the Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
in Barcelona and the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
in 1930, the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
from 1931 to 1932, and the Paris Opéra
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
in 1935. She also appeared in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
A great Puccini interpreter, especially as Madama Butterfly, she also sang Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The story is based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost....
, La bohème
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...
, Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, and Liu in Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, also Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music...
's Il piccolo Marat
Il piccolo Marat
Il piccolo Marat is a dramma lirico or opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, 1921, from a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano.-Performance history:...
and Iris
Iris (opera)
Iris is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Its first performance was at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 22 November 1898.The opera is through-composed and set in Japan during legendary times...
, and Nedda in Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.-Biography:...
's Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
. Though essentially a lyric soprano, she occasionally sang a few spinto
Spinto
Spinto is a vocal term used to characterize a soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals...
Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
roles such as Leonora
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...
and Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, and also Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
's Maddalena
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....
and Fedora.
She retired from the stage in 1946, and turned to teaching. Among her pupils was British soprano Amy Shuard
Amy Shuard
Amy Shuard CBE was an English operatic soprano renowned in such dramatic roles as Elektra, Turandot and Brünnhilde. She created both title roles in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová and Jenůfa in their respective British premieres. She has been described as "the best English dramatic soprano since Eva...
. Pampanini died in Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
, aged 76.
She was the aunt of Silvana Pampanini
Silvana Pampanini
Silvana Pampanini is an Italian actress. She was Miss Italy in 1946 and the following year she started her movie career....
, a famous Italian actress.
Sources
- Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique, R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986) ISBN 2-213-01563-6