Gabriella Besanzoni (20 September 1888 – 8 July 1962) was an Italian opera singer (

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 ...

and

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

Early life

Gabriella Besanzoni was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and studied at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Career

Besanzoni had her debut at

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

in 1911. From 1918 she was a star of the Teatro Colón of

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 ...

, with regular appearances in other South American cities, especially

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. Her debut in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

happened in 1919, when she sang Amneris in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' with Claudia Muzio,

Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli (22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operatic spinto tenor. He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli wa ...

, and Renato Zanelli. That same season, she starred with

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that r ...

in productions of ''

Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater (now the Staatskapelle Weimar) on 2 ...

'' and '' La Forza del Destino'' at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

. The pair were appearing together in ''Aida'' in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Richard P. Connell
Liner Notes
, ''Jose Mojica - Tenor; Gabriella Besanzoni - Alto'', ArkivMusic. She left the Teatro Colón in 1935, and held her farewell concert in Rome in 1939, singing ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' at the Baths of Caracalla. She made several recordings for Victor Talking Machine Company, Victor, and appeared in one Italian silent film, ''Stefania'' (1916). She taught young singers in Brazil during her marriage, and also taught voice in Rome in her later years. Tenor Giacomo Lauri Volpi mentioned her in his ''Voci parallele'' as one of the only three real

s he had chanced to meet throughout his career (the others being Margaret Matzenauer and Matilde Blanco Sadun).

Personal life

Besanzoni and pianist Arthur Rubinstein were romantically involved in 1918 when both were working in Madrid, Buenos Aires, and New York. Besanzoni married Brazilian industrialist Henrique Lage in 1925. The couple lived in Rio de Janeiro; their grand home and gardens are now known as Parque Lage, a public park. Besanzoni was widowed in 1941; she married again in 1956, and she died in Italy in 1962, aged 73. She was buried in one of her ''Carmen'' costumes.Victoria Etnier Villamil
''"O ma Carmen": Bizet's Fateful Gypsy in Portrayals from 1875 to the Present''
(McFarland 2017): 97;

References

External links

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with biographical notes, sound clips, and many photographs. {{DEFAULTSORT:Besanzoni, Gabriella 1888 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Italian women opera singers Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni