Elsa Respighi (née Olivieri-Sangiacomo) (24 March 1894 – 17 March 1996) was an Italian singer and composer. She was the wife and former pupil of

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. His compositions range over operas, ballets, orchestral su ...

Biography

A singer (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middl ...

) and composer herself, Elsa Respighi created ballets out of Respighi's ''

Ancient Airs and Dances ''Ancient Airs and Dances'' ( it, Antiche arie e danze) is a set of three orchestral suites by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, freely transcribed from original pieces for lute. In addition to being a renowned composer and conductor, Respighi ...

'' suites and completed his final opera ''Lucrezia'' in 1937. Throughout her long life she championed her husband's work unfailingly. In 1955 she produced a memoir of her encounters with some of the most influential cultural figures of the early twentieth century. She also published a biography of Respighi in 1962. In 1969 she established Fondo Respighi at the

Fondazione Giorgio Cini The Giorgio Cini Foundation (''Italian: Fondazione Giorgio Cini''), or just Cini Foundation, is a cultural foundation founded 20 April 1951 in memory of Giorgio Cini, an Italian entrepreneur who died in August 1949. History The Foundation is loca ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, to promote music education in Italy. She was also at the forefront of the 1979 Respighi Centenary celebrations, which saw a number of long-neglected works performed and recorded for the first time. Since then, several of her own works, chiefly for solo voice with accompaniment, have been given their premiere.

Death

She died one week short of her 102nd birthday in 1996.

Works

Elsa Respighi's works include: * * * * * * * * * *

References

Italian women classical composers Italian centenarians Italian mezzo-sopranos 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian women singers Women centenarians 1894 births 1996 deaths 20th-century women composers {{Italy-composer-stub