I Troiani

Italian opera singer, mezzo-soprano Date of Birth: Country: Italy

Content:

1. Biography of Giulietta Simionato
2. Early Life and Career
3. Success and Recognition
4. Major Performances
5. Friendship with Maria Callas and Retirement
6. Later Life and Legacy

Biography of Giulietta Simionato

Giulietta Simionato was an Italian opera singer, a mezzo-soprano known for her vibrant and flexible voice.

Her career began in the s and continued until her retirement in Audiences admired Simionato for her brilliant performances and astonishingly wide repertoire, her mastery of both dramatic and comedic roles. She worked with the greatest directors of her time and performed on the world's best opera stages. Simionato had friendly relationships with Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, the acknowledged opera queens among sopranos, and was universally loved by colleagues and audiences for her sense of humor, warmth, and professionalism.

Early Life and Career

Giulietta Simionato was born on May 12, , in Forlì, Italy.

Bellini Italian mezzo-soprano. Raised on the island of Sardinia, where she received her earliest voice lessons from nuns at the convent school she attended, Giulietta Simionato initially sang only "for the Madonna," at the insistence of her highly religious mother. Giovanna Truddaiu Simionato vetoed the suggestion that her daughter receive further vocal training, but, after her death when Giulietta was 15, the family moved to a town near Padua, where Giulietta began her vocal training in earnest. She sang publicly in provincial cities twice before she was 20, and in beat over other competitors to win a bel canto contest in Florence. Simionato continued to sing secondary roles at La Scala for the next eight years, finally growing so frustrated with her stagnant career that she struck out on her own.

Her father was a civil servant, and the family frequently moved. From Forlì, Simionato moved to Sardinia, and then to Rovigo. Her mother, a stern and unsupportive woman, did not encourage her daughter's interest in singing. Giulietta studied singing in Rovigo and Padua, and made her opera debut at the age of 18 in at the Teatro Montagnani. She performed in Verdi's "Rigoletto," and it was a promising debut.

However, unfortunately, the next 15 years of Simionato's career passed without much success.

Giulietta simionato biografia Dopo la morte di quest'ultima, studia canto prima a Rovigo , poi a Padova. L'anno successivo esordisce nell'opera a Montagnana. Nel vince a Firenze il primo "Concorso di belcanto" su concorrenti ed ottiene un'audizione al Teatro alla Scala. Nel viene chiamata ancora alla Scala da Arturo Toscanini per il concerto commemorativo di Arrigo Boito. In una intervista del sostiene di aver interpretato ruoli operistici in 39 anni di carriera.

She was given minor roles that did not allow her to showcase the beauty of her voice and her talent. According to the singer herself, the contract with La Scala, signed in , brought her many tears and little joy.

Success and Recognition

It wasn't until the late s that Simionato began to achieve major roles and gain recognition.

In , she sang the role of Minnie in Ambroise Thomas' opera "Mignon," and the thrilled audience applauded her for ten minutes. After that, offers poured in from all directions. The singer had to travel between opera stages in different cities, spending her nights on trains. By the end of her career, Giulietta Simionato was considered one of the most talented opera singers of her generation.

Thanks to her extensive repertoire and constant training, her voice remained lively, flexible, and expressive until her final days.

Major Performances

Besides La Scala, Simionato performed at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden (debut in ), at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (debut in ). In , she performed at the Edinburgh Festival, in at the San Francisco Opera, in at the National Theater of São Carlos in Lisbon, from to at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

She sang at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival since Simionato had a wide repertoire, including light and lively roles such as Rossini's Rosina and Cinderella, Charlotte in "Werther," the passionate Carmen, and Gluck's "Orfeo." She excelled in the roles of Amneris, Eboli, and Azucena in Verdi's operas, as well as the role of Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana."

Friendship with Maria Callas and Retirement

Simionato first performed with Maria Callas in Mexico in They then formed a close friendship and partnership.

I Capuleti e i Montecchi Her career spanned the period from the s until her retirement in As a girl she studied in a boarding school with nuns who sensed her musical qualities and invited her to study singing, which she did against the opposition of the family, especially her mother. After the latter's death, Giulietta studied first in Rovigo , then in Padua. The following year she made her operatic debut at Montagnana. In she won the first "bel canto competition" in Florence against competitors and got an audition at the Teatro alla Scala , Milan.

Callas supported her friend and insisted that Simionato receive the same fees as herself in their joint performances. In , without much fanfare or special farewells, Simionato left the stage, announcing her retirement just before her last performance. She wanted to commemorate her final performance with the 30th anniversary of her debut at La Scala.

In the same year, she married her second husband, Dr. Cesare Frugoni. The marriage was very happy but short-lived, as Dr. Frugoni passed away in

Later Life and Legacy

Fortunately for her numerous fans, Simionato continued to make recordings, and many of her performances were captured on radio or film. After leaving the stage, Simionato remained active in her public life until her final years.

Norma

Giulietta Simionato was an Italian opera singer, a mezzo-soprano known for her vibrant and flexible voice. Her career began in the s and continued until her retirement in Audiences admired Simionato for her brilliant performances and astonishingly wide repertoire, her mastery of both dramatic and comedic roles. She worked with the greatest directors of her time and performed on the world's best opera stages. Simionato had friendly relationships with Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, the acknowledged opera queens among sopranos, and was universally loved by colleagues and audiences for her sense of humor, warmth, and professionalism.

She taught singing, mentored promising students, held various leadership positions, and amazed everyone with her vitality in her nineties. In , Simionato appeared in the award-winning documentary film "Il Bacio di Tosca" by Swiss director Daniel Schmid, which focused on a retirement home for opera singers founded by Giuseppe Verdi. In , she gave a witty and entertaining interview to American tenor Stephen Zacher in the film "Opera Fanatic." Simionato's last interview, accompanied by a photo shoot, was given at the age of 92 to Stefano Hastings, a journalist from Opera News and editor of the Italian magazine "Musica." The great soprano passed away on May 5, , in Rome, in her apartment, from natural causes.

Simionato missed her th birthday by less than a week.