Alda Noni (30 April 1916 – 19 May 2011) was an Italian soprano leggiero, one of the leading

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

s of the immediate postwar period. Born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, she first studied voice and piano in her native city, and completed her studies in Vienna. She made her professional debut in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

in 1937, as Rosina, later appearing in Zagreb and Belgrade. She sang at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

from 1942 to 1946, in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

and lighter

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

roles, such as: Susanna, Zerlina, Despina,

Adina Adina may refer to: Places India * Adina Deer Park, a deer sanctuary in Malda district, West Bengal * Adina Kottige, a village in Karnataka * Adina Mosque, a ruined mosque in West Bengal Other countries * Adina, Ghana, a town in the ...

, Norina. She was chosen by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

himself, to sing Zerbinetta in 1944, to celebrate his 80th birthday. She sang widely in Italy, both on stage and on radio broadcast, where she was admired in opera by

Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School and of the Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il matrimonio segreto'' (1792); most of his ...

Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born in ...

, and Fioravanti, often partnering

Cesare Valletti Cesare Valletti (18 December 1922 – 13 May 2000) was an Italian operatic tenor, one of the leading tenore di grazia of the postwar era. Valletti was born in Rome, where he studied music. He also studied privately with Tito Schipa. He mad ...

and

Sesto Bruscantini Sesto Bruscantini (10 December 1919 – 4 May 2003) was an Italian baritone, one of the greatest buffo singers of the post-war era, especially renowned in Mozart and Rossini. Biography and career Bruscantini was born in Civitanova Marche, M ...

. She also appeared in London, 1946, Glyndebourne, 1949, and made her

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

debut in 1951, as

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

, later singing Nanetta. She retired from the stage in 1955. She can be heard in many recordings made for

Cetra Records Cetra (Compagnia per edizioni, teatro, registrazioni ed affini) was an Italian record company, active between 1933 and 1957, the year in which, by merging with (Fonodisco Italiano Trevisan), it gave birth to Fonit Cetra. Its roster of artists ...

in the early 1950s, notably '' Le cantatrici villane'', ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'', ''

Il matrimonio segreto ' (''The Secret Marriage'') is a dramma giocoso in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the 1766 play '' The Clandestine Marriage'' by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed ...

'', ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

'', ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'', ''

I quatro rusteghi ''I quatro rusteghi'' (''The Four Curmudgeons'', ''The Four Ruffians'', in Edward J. Dent's translation ''School for Fathers'', also translated by James Benner as ''Foolish Fathers'') is a comic opera in three acts, music by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari ...

''.

Sources

* ''Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique'', R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986), 1916 births 2011 deaths Italian operatic sopranos Musicians from Trieste 20th-century Italian women opera singers {{Italy-musician-stub