Ebe Stignani (July 10, 1904 - October 5, 1974) was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years. July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... Sydney Opera House: one of the worlds most recognizable opera houses and landmarks Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content or primary entertainment is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that...

Career

Born in Naples, Ebe Stignani studied music for five years at the San Pietro di Maiella Conservatory in Naples, including piano and composition as well as singing. The date of her singing début is usually said to have been in 1925 at the San Carlo opera house in Naples, in the role of Amneris in Verdi's Aida, but there is evidence that she may have sung a number of roles in the previous year. In 1926, she was invited to La Scala Milan by Arturo Toscanini to sing the part of Princess Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlo, and Milan continued to be a principal stage for her during the rest of her career. She sang all of the major Italian mezzo-soprano roles, but also tackled Wagner's Ortrud (Lohengrin) and Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), and Saint-Saëns's Dalila (Samson et Dalila) conducted by Victor de Sabata. Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Nàpule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. ... The triumphal scene from Opera Pacifics production of Aida in 2006. ... La Scala by night This article is about the opera house. ... Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867, Parma, Emilia-Romagna – January 16, 1957, New York City) was an Italian musician. ... Don Carlos is an opera in five acts by Giuseppe Verdi to a French libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller. ... Ortrud is a female character from Richard Wagners opera Lohengrin (1848). ... In some German Arthurian literature, Lohengrin is the son of Parzival (Percival). ... Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based on the romance by Gottfried von Strassburg, which in turn was based on the story of Tristan and Isolde incorporated into Arthurian legend from earlier interpretations of... Samson et Dalila is a grand opera composed by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. ... Vittorio (Victor) De Sabata (April 10, 1892 – December 11, 1967) was an Italian conductor and composer. ...

She appeared in San Francisco in 1930, and toured extensively in North America in the years after World War II. Her first appearance at Covent Garden was in 1937, as Amneris, and she returned to London a number of times, notably in the role of Adalgisa in partnership with Maria Callas's Norma in 1952 and 1957. She also appeared frequently in South America, including the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and in many other European cities outside Italy including Paris, Madrid, and Berlin (where she sang in 1933, 1937 and 1941). Among the new roles which she created during her career were Cathos in Felice Lattuada's Le preziose ridicole (1929), and La Voce in Respighi's Lucrezia (1937). The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ... Norma is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani. ... Opened in 1908, the Col n Theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina is one of the most famous opera houses in the world. ... Ottorino Respighi (born in Bologna on July 9, 1879, died in Rome on April 18, 1936) was an Italian composer and musicologist. ...

She retired from the stage in 1958 after appearances in London (as Azucena) and in Dublin (as Amneris). Thereafter which she lived quietly in retirement at her home in Imola. She had married in 1941 and given birth to a son in 1944. Imola (1991 pop. ...

Stignani's voice was large and rich in tone, if sometimes hard-edged, and evenly balanced throughout its considerable range. It had sufficient flexibility for her to undertake such roles as Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, but it was in noble, dramatic parts that she was heard to greatest effect. Critics often referred to the grandeur of her performances. She was not reckoned to have great acting skills, but she achieved dramatic power and characterization through the quality of her voice and technique. She knew her priorities: speaking to Lanfranco Rasponi, she said, "I was given a magnificent gift, and in a way I am like a priestess, for I feel that it is my responsibility to keep the flame lit in the best possible manner... I am Stignani because of my voice". She was highly disciplined in her choice of roles and in the number of appearances she made; in the earlier part of her career she would limit her performances to around 40 in a year, which no doubt contributed to the longevity of her career at the highest level. Litaliana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) is a comic opera in two acts by Gioacchino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier libretto set by Luigi Mosca, a composer now forgotten. ...

Recordings

Stignani recorded a range of operatic arias in the late 1930s and early 1940s reflecting the variety of roles in her repertoire, and these have been variously reissued on CD.

Among her recordings of complete operas/oratorios are:

• Ponchielli: La gioconda, (conducted by Lorenzo Molajoli), recorded 1931, (role of Laura).
• Verdi: Requiem, (conducted by Tullio Serafin), recorded 1939.
• Verdi: La forza del destino, (conducted by Gino Marinuzzi), recorded 1941, (role of Preziosilla).
• Verdi: Aida, (conducted by Tullio Serafin), recorded 1946, (role of Amneris).
• Bizet: Carmen, (conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza), recorded 1945/1949?, (role of Carmen); [described by John Steane as "truly dreadful", (Gramophone May 2000)].
• Bellini: Norma, (conducted by Tullio Serafin), recorded 1954, (role of Adalgisa). This was the first of Maria Callas's two studio recordings of Norma; at this stage of her career Stignani may sound unduly mature as the young priestess, but the voice is still rich and resolute. There is also a live recording of the celebrated 1952 Covent Garden production of Norma, conducted by Vittorio Gui, again with Callas, and rated by some reviewers more highly than the studio recording.

Maria Callas on book cover Maria Callas (Greek name: Μαρία Καλογεροπούλου) (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and perhaps the best-known opera singer of the post-World War II period. ... Norma is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani. ... Vittorio Gui (14 September 1885 - 16 October 1975) was an Italian conductor and composer. ...

Bibliography

• Celletti, R. [1964]. Le grandi voci (Roma: Istituto per la collaborazione culturale).
• Davidson, E. [1971]. "All about Ebe", Opera News, xxxv/21 (1971), p.28.
• De Franceschi, Bruno, and Pier Fernando Mondini. [1980]. Ebe Stignani: una voce e il suo mondo. (Imola: Grafiche Galeati).
• Rasponi, Lanfranco. [1982]. The last prima donnas. (New York, Knopf).

External links

• Ebe Stignani, in Opera Voices: Bob Rideout's biographies

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