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 Stella in the 1960s | |
| Born | Maria Antonietta Stella (1929-03-15)15 March 1929 Perugia, Italy |
| Died | 23 February 2022(2022-02-23) (aged 92) |
| Education |
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| Occupation | Operatic soprano |
Maria Antonietta Stella (15 March 1929 – 23 February 2022) was an Italian operatic soprano, and one of the most prominent Italian spinto sopranos of the 1950s and 1960s. She made her debut in Spoleto in 1950, as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore, a year later at Rome Opera, as Leonora in La forza del destino, in 1954 at La Scala in Milan, as Desdemona in Otello, in 1955 Royal Opera House in London as Aida, and in 1956 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, in the same role.
Life and career
Born in Perugia, Stella studied at the Conservatory of Perugia and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and made her debut in Spoleto, as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore, in 1950. The tenor Giuseppe Treppaciani was her partner on stage, and later became her husband. She appeared at the Rome Opera in 1951, as Leonora in Verdi's La forza del destino. The same year, she appeared in Germany at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, the Bavarian State Opera and the Staatstheater Wiesbaden. She quickly sang throughout Italy: Florence, Naples, Parma, Turin, Catania, Verona, Venice, among others. She made La Scala debut in 1954 as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, where she then sang regularly to great acclaim until 1963, in Verdi roles such as Violetta in La traviata, Elisabetta in Don Carlos, and the title role in Aida, as Puccini's Tosca, Mimi in La bohème and Madama Butterfly, and as Maddalena in Giordano's Andrea Chénier. She appeared at the Verona di Verona first in 2953, then in 1955 as Aida and Leonora in La forza del destino, and in more leading roles until 1964.
In 1955, she made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London as Aida, also at La Monnaie in Brussels and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 1956, she first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, again as Aida. She performed there successfully until 1960, in eight roles in 54 performances including Leonora in Il trovatore, Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, Tosca, and Elisabetta. In 1958 she had a particular success in a new Metropolitan production of Madama Butterfly designed in the manner of Japanese woodblock prints. Her assimilation of Japanese physicality and gesture was particularly praised. Her Leonore in Il trovatore was also presented in a new production at the Metropolitan to public and critical acclaim. Stella was an elegant, glamorous figure on stage and an accomplished actress. She took part in the world premiere of Maria Stuarda by de Bellis at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1974.
Stella, like other artists of the period, was somewhat eclipsed by the competition between Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, but she had a significant career of her own and left several recordings, including of works such as Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix, Meyerbeer's L'Africaine, and Verdi's La battaglia di Legnano and Simon Boccanegra. She appeared in an Italian television production of Andrea Chénier, opposite Mario del Monaco and Giuseppe Taddei in 1955, since released on DVD. She can also be heard on an Italian radio broadcast of Spontini's rarely performed work Agnes von Hohenstaufen, opposite Montserrat Caballé, released on CD.
Stella died on 23 February 2022, at the age of 92.
Recordings
- Donizetti - Linda di Chamounix - Tullio Serafin (Philips, 1956)
- Verdi - Il trovatore - Serafin (DG, 1962)
- Verdi - La traviata - Serafin (EMI, 1955)
- Verdi - Un ballo in maschera - Gianandrea Gavazzeni (DG, 1960)
- Verdi - Don Carlo - Gabriele Santini (EMI, 1954)
- Verdi - Don Carlo - Santini (DG, 1961)
- Verdi - Simon Boccanegra - Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (Cetra, 1951)
- Giordano - Andrea Chénier - Santini (EMI, 1963)
- Puccini - La bohème - Molinari-Pradelli (Philips, 1957)
- Puccini - Tosca - Serafin (Philips, 1957)
References
- ^ Kutsch, K. J.; Riemens, Leo (2012). Stella, Antonietta (in German) (4th ed.). De Gruyter. pp. 4524–4525. ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - Legendary soprano Antonietta Stella dies at 92 operawire.com
External Links
- Antonietta Stella discography at Discogs
- Antonietta Stella at IMDb
- Zum Tode von ... Antonietta Stella (in German) operalounge.de