Elena Theodorini (or Teodorini; née Ellen Morton or Monzunu; 25 March 1857 – 27 February 1926) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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 ...

and

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Biography

Born in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

Principality of Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia ...

, into a family of Romanian actors of Greek descent, she began to study singing and piano at the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory, also known as the Conservatorio di Milano and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, is a Music school, college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital ...

. She debuted as a mezzo-soprano in

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

, with '' Maria di Rohan''. She then sang in theaters in provinces of Italy, as well as the

Bucharest Opera The Romanian National Opera, Bucharest () is the oldest of the four national opera and ballet companies of Romania. The company was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Bucharest, near the Cotroceni neighbourhood. History In 1877, Romanian g ...

. In 1879, she began her career as a soprano in ''La fille du regiment'' at the

Teatro dal Verme The Teatro Dal Verme is a theatre in Milan, Italy located on the Via San Giovanni sul Muro, on the site of the former private theatre the ''Politeama Ciniselli''. It was designed by Giuseppe Pestagalli to a commission from Count Francesco Dal Ve ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 1880, she made 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 the role of Marguerite in ''Faust''. She was the first Romanian singer to appear on stage at La Scala, and remained with the company until 1893. In 1884, she debuted at the

Teatro Colon Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band membe ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, next to

Francesco Tamagno Francesco Tamagno (28 December 1850 – 31 August 1905) was an Italian operatic dramatic tenor who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America.Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages, On ...

. At this time, her career focused on the soprano repertoire. In Europe, she performed in major Italian theaters, we well as in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She was equally comfortable in dramatic or lyrical roles, mezzo-soprano or contralto, thanks to the exceptional extension of her voice. Her stage presence was characterized by a passionate and dramatic temperament. In 1909, she founded a singing academy in Buenos Aires, while also teaching in Brazil. She returned to Romania in 1924, and began teaching at the conservatory in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Among her students were

Bidu Sayão Balduína "Bidú" de Oliveira Sayão (11 May 1902 – 12 March 1999) was a Brazilian opera soprano. One of Brazil's celebrated musicians, Sayão was a leading artist of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 to 1952. Life and career ...

and Nicola Moscona. Theodorini died in 1926 in Bucharest and was buried in the city's Sfânta Vineri Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

Viorel Cosma Viorel Cosma (30 March 1923 – 15 August 2017) was a Romanian musician and teacher who came to wider prominence as an exceptionally prolific musicologist and a pioneering lexicographer. Through his scholarship he also achieved distinction as a ...

, "Elena Theodorini", Editura Muzicală, București 1962 *

Rodolfo Celletti Rodolfo Celletti (1917–2004) was an Italian musicologist, critic, voice teacher, and novelist. Considered one of the leading scholars of the operatic voice and the history of operatic performance, he published many books and articles on the subje ...

, "Teodorini Elena", Le Grandi Voci, Dizionario Critico Biografico Dei Cantati con Discografia Operatica, Roma 1964 *Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French édition), Guide de l’opéra, Les indispensables de la musique (

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...

, 1995). * Lanfranco Rasponi, The Last Prima Donnas, Bidú Sayão,

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, 1982, p. 507.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodorini, Elena 1857 births 1926 deaths People from Craiova Milan Conservatory alumni Romanian operatic sopranos Romanian operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century Romanian women opera singers 20th-century Romanian women opera singers Burials at Sfânta Vineri Cemetery People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia Expatriates in Italy