Mirella Freni

Mirella Freni (born 27 February 1935) is a famous Italian opera soprano much admired for the youthful quality of her voice and her acting skills. Her repertoire encompasses some forty roles, Verdi and Puccini in particular but also Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Freni was married for many years to the Bulgarian basso Nicolai Ghiaurov, with whom she performed and recorded frequently. Italian opera singer Source: www. ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan. ... Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Giuseppe Verdi, by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 (National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome). ... Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire[1]. Some of his melodies, such as O mio babbino caro... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was a prolific and highly influential composer of Classical music. ... Young Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1874) Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильич Чайкoвский, Pjotr Il’ič ÄŒajkovskij;   (7 May 1840 [O.S. 25 April] – 6 November 1893 [O.S. 25 October]), also transliterated Piotr Ilitsch Tschaikowski, Petr Ilich Tschaikowsky, Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, as well as many other versions, was a Russian composer... A basso (or bass) is a male singer who sings in the lowest vocal range of the human voice. ... Nicolai Ghiaurov (13 September 1929–2 June 2004) was a Bulgarian opera singer and probably the most famous bass of the postwar period. ...

Biography

Freni was born Mirella Freni into a working class family in Modena (both her mother and tenor Luciano Pavarotti's mother worked in the same cigarette factory in that city). She was a musically gifted child and sang "Un bel dì vedremo" in a radio competition at age ten. The tenor Beniamino Gigli warned her, however, that she risked ruining her voice and advised her to give up singing until she was older. She resumed singing at age 17. Modena (Mòdna in Modenese dialect) is a city and a province on the south side of the Po valley, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. ... Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935), an Italian tenor, is one of the most famous living singers, not only in the world of opera, but across all genres. ... Beniamino Gigli (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian singer, widely regarded as one of the greatest operatic tenors of his time. ...

Mirella made her operatic debut in Modena at 1955, at age 19, as Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen. She was offered many roles after this, but she decided to put her career aside and marry her singing teacher, Leone Magiera, and have a child. Georges Bizet. ... Poster from the 1875 premiere of Carmen Carmen is a French opera by Georges Bizet. ...

She resumed her career in 1958 by winning a singing competition and singing Mimì in Puccini's La Bohème at the Teatro Regio in Torino. She then sang with the Netherlands Opera during the 1959-60 season. Her international breakthrough came when she sang Adina in Franco Zeffirelli's staging of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore at Glyndebourne, where she also sang the Mozart comic roles of Susanna and Zerlina during the 1960-62 seasons. Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire[1]. Some of his melodies, such as O mio babbino caro... La bohème[1] is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de Bohème by Henri Murger. ... Teatro Regio Torino is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Italy. ... De Nederlandse Opera (DNO) is the leading opera company of the Netherlands. ... Franco Zeffirelli (born Gianfranco Corsi on February 12, 1923), is an Italian film director. ... Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was a famous Italian opera composer. ... Lelisir damore (The Elixir of Love) is a comic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on Eugène Scribes Le Philtre. ... Glyndebourne is a country house near Lewes in East Sussex, England. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ...

In 1961, Freni made her Royal Opera House debut as Nannetta in Verdi's Falstaff. In 1963, she made her debut at La Scala, in a production staged by Zeffirelli and conducted by Herbert von Karajan (Freni went on to become one of Karajan's favourite singers, and she collaborated with him in numerous operas and concerts). In 1965, Freni made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mimì, and later appeared there as Liù in Puccini's Turandot, as well as Marguerite in Faust and Juliette in Romeo and Juliette. The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ... Giuseppe Verdi, by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 (National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome). ... Falstaff is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeares play The Merry Wives of Windsor. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, by night. ... Herbert von Karajan (Salzburg April 5, 1908 Anif near Salzburg – July 16, 1989) was an Austrian conductor. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire[1]. Some of his melodies, such as O mio babbino caro... Original Turandot poster For the opera by Ferruccio Busoni, see Turandot (Busoni). ... Faust (Latin Faustus) is the protagonist of a popular German tale of a pact with the Devil, assumed to be based on the figure of the German magician and alchemist Dr. Johann Georg Faust (approximately 1480–1540). ... Romeo y Julieta is also a brand of Cuban cigars. ...

From the early 1970s into the 1980s, Freni began singing heavier Verdi roles, notably Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Desdemona in Otello, and Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in La forza del destino, and the title role of Aida. She also added the Puccini heroines of Manon Lescaut and Tosca to her repertory, and recorded Madama Butterfly as well as all three roles of Il trittico. Giuseppe Verdi, by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 (National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome). ... Don Carlos is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. ... Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeares play Othello. ... Simon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez. ... Ernani is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. ... Cover of first bilingual edition of the libretto of La forza del destino, St. ... // Introduction This article is about the marketing term, AIDA. For other uses of the term, see Aida (disambiguation). ... Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire[1]. Some of his melodies, such as O mio babbino caro... Manon Lescaut is a novel by the abbé Prévost. ... Original poster Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Victorien Sardous drama, La Tosca. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Il trittico (The Triptych) is the title to a collection of three one-act operas, Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, by Giacomo Puccini. ...

In 1976 she starred memorably in a filmed production of Le Nozze di Figaro by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. As Susanna, she not only sang beautifully but also displayed considerable acting skills. Le Nozze di Figaro, is a comic opera composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Beaumarchais. ... Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (1932-1988), a highly acclaimed opera director, was born in Paris on February 19, 1932. ...

In 1981, she married Ghiaurov, one of the leading operatic basses of the post-war period. Together they helped establish the Centro Universale del Bel Canto in Vignola, where they started giving master classes in 2002. Following Ghiaurov's death in 2004, Freni continues their work in preserving the Bel Canto tradition, and teaches young singers from around the world. Nicolai Ghiaurov (13 September 1929–2 June 2004) was a Bulgarian opera singer and probably the most famous bass of the postwar period. ...

Freni published a memoir, Mio Caro Teatro in 1990. She was also awarded the order Cavaliere della Gran Croce della Repubblica Italiana that year and the French Légion d'Honneur in March 1993. The University of Pisa awarded her an honorary degree in 2002 for "her great contribution to European culture."

Freni continued to add to expand her repertory well into the 1990s with Italian verismo, taking on the title roles of Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur in Milan, Paris and New York and Giordano's Fedora in Milan, New York, Torino and Zürich. 1997 New York saw her at the Metropolitan in Fedora opposite Placido Domingo under the baton of Roberto Abbado. In 1998, she performed the latter's Madame Sans-Gêne in Catania. During this time she also ventured into the Russian operas of Tchaikovsky, appearing as Tatiana in Yevgeny Onegin, Lisa in Pikovaya Dama, and Ioanna in Orleanskaya Deva. In 2005, the Metropolitan Opera celebrated the 40th anniversary of her Met debut and her 50th anniversary on the stage with a special gala concert conducted by James Levine. Verismo was an Italian literary movement born approximately between 1875 and 1895. ... Francesco Cilea, (Palmi, near Reggio Calabria, July 26, 1866 - Varazze, near Savona, November 20, 1950) was an Italian opera composer, whose early success was not sustained, as taste in music changed. ... Umberto Giordano Umberto Giordano (August 28, 1867 - November 12, 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of opera. ... Young Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1874) Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильич Чайкoвский, Pjotr Il’ič ÄŒajkovskij;   (7 May 1840 [O.S. 25 April] – 6 November 1893 [O.S. 25 October]), also transliterated Piotr Ilitsch Tschaikowski, Petr Ilich Tschaikowsky, Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, as well as many other versions, was a Russian composer... Eugene Onegin (Russian: Евгений Онегин, BGN/PCGN: Yevgeniy Onegin) is a novel in verse written by Aleksandr Pushkin. ... The Queen of Spades (Пиковая дама in Russian, Pikovaya dama in transliteration) is an opera in three acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composers brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story by the poet Aleksandr Pushkin. ... The Maid of Orleans (Orleanskaya deva in transliteration) is an opera in four acts by Pyotr Tchaikovsky to a libretto by the composer, based on several sources: Friedrich von Schiller’s Die Jungfrau von Orleans (The Young Woman from Orleans) translated by Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky; Jules Barbier’s... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... James Levine (born June 23, 1943 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American orchestral pianist and conductor and most well known as the music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. ...

External links

• Unofficial fan site
• Profile
• Mirella Freni at the Internet Movie Database