Rina Emilia Lucia Giachetti (25 August 1880 – 1 June 1959) was an Italian operatic soprano.

Early life

Rina Emilia Lucia Giachetti was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1880, the daughter of Guido Giachetti and Giuseppina Guidalotti Giachetti. She studied voice with in

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 ...

Career

Giachetti had her opera debut in 1899 in Bizet's ''

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 Verdi Theatre in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. She sang in most of the popular operas of her time in Europe, and was a favorite of

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

's. Her starring roles in ''Cendrillon'' (1902), ''

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 ...

'' (1903), ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' (1903), ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...

'' (1904), '' Un ballo in maschera'' (1905), ''Madama Butterfly'' (1905), and ''

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

'' (1906). She played Musetta in the first Neapolitan production of

Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...

's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' in 1902. She shared star billing 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 ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'' in 1902, and toured in South America with Caruso in 1905. She sang at London's

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

often from 1904 to 1908. Her audiences included

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

and

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

in Great Britain,

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

of Germany, and the King and Queen of Portugal.

Personal life and legacy

Rina Giachetti had both intimate and professional associations with Enrico Caruso. Her older sister , also an opera singer, was the mother of two sons with Caruso. Giachetti married a doctor, Galileo Pierallini. She died in

Cerreto Guidi Cerreto Guidi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about west of Florence. Cerreto Guidi borders the following municipalities: Empoli, Fucecchio, Lamporecchio, Larciano, San M ...

, near Florence, in 1959, aged 78 years. Giachetti recurs as a figure in popular culture primarily because of her association with Caruso. She was one of the narrating characters in

Mary di Michele Mary di Michele (born 6 August 1949) is an Italian-Canadian poet and author.Joseph Pivato. Mary Di Michele: Essays on Her Works'. Guernica Editions; 2007. . p. 206–. She was a professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec where she taug ...

's novel ''Tenor of Love'' (2007). She was played by

Martina Stella Martina Stella (born 28 November 1984) is an Italian actress and screenwriter. Acting career Stella made her cinematic debut at the age of 16 in 2001 in '' L'ultimo bacio''. The film was a success in Italy, and was nominated for multiple David di ...

in a biographical drama for Italian television, ''Caruso, la voce dell'amore'' (2012). Some of her correspondence with Caruso was part of an archive auctioned by

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

in 2014.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giachetti, Rina 1880 births 1959 deaths Italian opera singers Singers from Florence