Giuseppina Vitali Augusti (1 March 1845 – 15 February 1915)
was an Italian soprano, composer, and writer.
Vitali was born in
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
to Raphael V. and Claudia Ferlotti Vitali, who were both singers.
They opened a singing school in
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
where Vitali studied. She was also coached by her maternal uncle
Raffaele Ferlotti, a singer who had performed at
La Scala. Vitali married Italian tenor Augusto Paoletti (stage name Paolo Augusti) in 1871 and they had three daughters, Claudina, Ida, and Augusta.
She appeared on stage as "Giuseppina Vitali-Augusti," and published her songs and poems as "Giuseppina Vitali."
Vitali made her debut as a singer at age 17 in the role of Gilda in a performance of
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
's ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'' in
Modena
Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025.
A town, and seat of an archbis ...
. She sang major roles on stages throughout Europe and also in Egypt. Vitali donated the proceeds for several performances in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
to various charities (for the Association of St. Ludmilla, to pay construction expenses for Prague's National Theater, for the theater choir, and for the Academic Readers' Association).
In 1866,
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...
rewrote the role of Ninetta in his opera ''
The Thieving Magpie'' specifically for Vitali to sing. Vitali left the stage in 1894 when her work at
Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona was cancelled after a bomb exploded and the theater was closed for repairs. She retired to Rome to write poems and songs and teach. Soprano Elisa Petri was among her students.
Vitali's music was published by
Casa Ricordi. In addition to her own compositions, she translated at least one of
Gaetano Donizetti's songs ("Il giglio e la rosa") from French to Italian.
Accademia d'arte Lirica Osimo instituted the Giuseppina Vitali Prize for opera singers in 2017. The prize was offered again in 2019.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitali, Giuseppina
1845 births
1915 deaths
Italian sopranos
Italian women composers