
Clara Petrella (28 March 1914 – 19 November 1987) was an Italian operatic
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, an outstanding singing-actress nicknamed the "Duse of Singers".
Born in
Greco Milanese to a musical family, she was a descendant of composer
Errico Petrella
Errico Petrella (10 December 18137 April 1877) was an Italian opera composer.
Life and career
Petrella was born at Palermo, capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. A conservative of the Neapolitan school, he was the most successful Italian composer, ...
, and the niece of soprano Oliva Petrella. She studied first with her sister Micaela, and later with
Giannina Russ. She made her debut in Alessandria, as
Liu
Liu (; or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'battle axe', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the clas ...
, in 1939.
She quickly sang throughout Italy, making her debut at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
in 1947, as
Giorgetta in
Il tabarro
''Il tabarro'' (''The Cloak'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on 's play ''La houppelande''. It is the first of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico''. The first performance was given ...
, she sang there regularly until 1962. She was particularly admired in the
verismo
In opera, , from , meaning 'true', was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini.
''Verismo'' as an operatic ge ...
repertory and contemporary works. She created many roles in opera by the following composers;
Lodovico Rocca
Lodovico Rocca (29 November 1895, Turin – 24 June 1986, Turin) was an Italian composer.
A pupil of Giacomo Orefice, his operas, written in late verismo
In opera, , from , meaning 'true', was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated ...
,
Ildebrando Pizzetti
Ildebrando Pizzetti (20 September 1880 – 13 February 1968) was an Italian composer of classical music, as well as a musicologist and a music critic.
Biography
Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" alon ...
,
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as ''Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by ...
, and
Renzo Rossellini.
Petrella had a beautiful
spinto
Spinto ( Italian for "pushed") is a vocal term used to characterize a soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals. (Sometimes the terms ' or ' a ...
voice, combined with an explosive dramatic temperament, and she was compared to the great Italian actress
Eleonora Duse
Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse ( , ; 3 October 185821 April 1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress, rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele D'Annunzio and Henr ...
. In the early 1950s, she made several recordings with
Cetra
Cetra, a Latin word borrowed from Greek, is an Italian descendant of ''κιθάρα'' (cithara). It is a synonym for the cittern but has been used for the citole and cithara (the lyre-form) and cythara (the lyre-form developing into a necked i ...
, notably; ''
Manon Lescaut
''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. It tells a tragic love story about a nobleman (known only as the Chevalier des Grieux) and a common woman (Manon Lescaut). Their decisio ...
'', ''
Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...
'', ''
Il tabarro
''Il tabarro'' (''The Cloak'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on 's play ''La houppelande''. It is the first of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico''. The first performance was given ...
'', ''
L'amore dei tre re
(''The Love of the Three Kings'') is an opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian-language libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who based it on his play of the same title.
Performance history
''L'amore dei tre re'' premie ...
'', ''
Zazà
''Zazà'' () is an opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo, with a libretto by the composer, which draws on the same material as the French play '' Zaza'' (1898). The story concerns the French music hall singer, Zazà, and her affair and subsequent decisio ...
'', and for
Decca
Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label
* Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...
, she recorded ''
Pagliacci
''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...
''. She also appeared on Italian television productions of ''Manon Lescaut'' and ''Il tabarro'', in 1956.
Clara died in 1987 in Milan.
Sources
*''Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique'', R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986),
1914 births
1987 deaths
Italian operatic sopranos
Singers from Milan
20th-century Italian women opera singers
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