Gianna Pederzini
When one refers to outstanding exponents of the title role of Bizet’s Carmen, the name of Italian mezzo Gianna Pederzini immediately springs to mind. She was celebrated not only for her singing but also for her acting and for her allure. In his interview for …
Giulietta Simionato
Giulietta Simionato abandoned the operatic stage in 1966 to become the wife of Italy’s most celebrated physician, Dr. Cesare Frugoni who died on January 5, 1978, at the age of ninety-seven. Simionato chose to retire on February 1, 1966, the approximate anniversary of her La …
Gladys Swarthout
Gladys Swarthout was born on December 25th 1904 in Deepwater (Missouri). She was trained at the Bush Conservatory in Chicago and later by the conductor, Leopoldo Mugnone. In 1924 she made her official stage debut at the Chicago Opera House as the Shepard Boy in …
Jennie Tourel
Jennie Tourel (recte Jennie Davidson) was most probably born in Montreal in 1899 (according to other sources on June 26th 1900 in Witebsk in White Russia) to Russian parents. In Paris she was trained by Anna El-Tour, whose last name she changed into Tourel for …
Risë Stevens
Risë Stevens was born in New York on June 11th 1913. For three years she studied at New York`s Juilliard School of Music and then went to Vienna in 1935 where she was trained by Marie Gutheil-Schoder and Herbert Graf. At the Opera House of …
Mezzo-Sopranos
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