Description

ALICE CUCINI (? 1870 – MILAN, 1949)

 

 

 

 

She made her professional opera debut in 1891 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, a role which she later repeated at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome that same year. She spent the next several years performing throughout Italy, including engagements in Trieste, Milan, Venice, and Florence. In 1897, she gained great acclaim for her portrayal of Dalila in Camille Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila at the Teatro Regio di Torino. Cucini became particularly associated with this role, performing it in numerous productions over the next fourteen years, including at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (1899), Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo (1900), Teatro Regio di Parma (1902), Teatro Colón (1910), and in a few performances in Spain.

In 1898, Cucini traveled to Russia, where she performed in several operas in Saint Petersburg and portrayed the role of Gertrude in Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet in Odessa. In 1901 and 1902, she appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Solís Theatre in Montevideo, notably portraying Amneris in Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida and Azucena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore. This marked the beginning of a fruitful career in South America that lasted until 1910.

In 1903, Cucini embarked on an extensive tour of South America with the acclaimed soprano Hariclea Darclée. Over the next seven years, she made frequent appearances in operas and concerts in major cities throughout the continent. Her last season in South America was in 1910, spent mainly at the Teatro Colón. That year, she notably sang the title role in Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale and performed in the world premiere of Giocondo Fino’s Il Battista alongside Adelina Agostinelli and Giuseppe de Luca.

After 1910, Cucini continued her career in major opera houses throughout Italy. In her final four years, the only major opera house in Italy where she did not appear was La Scala. She retired from the stage shortly after the outbreak of World War I and spent her last years at a rest home for aged musicians that Verdi had donated to the city of Milan.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1891 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Cavalleria Rusticana (Lola)

1891 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Cavalleria Rusticana (Lola)

1893 Palermo  Politeama Cavalleria Rusticana (Lola)

1896 Madrid  Teatro Buen Retiro Ballo in Maschera (Ulrica)

1896 Madrid  Teatro Buen Retiro Carmen (Carmen)

1896 Madrid  Teatro Buen Retiro Favorita (Leonora)

1896 Venezia  Teatro Rossini Favorita (Leonora)

1898 Odessa  Teatro Municipale Favorita (Leonora)

1901 Firenze  Teatro Verdi Favorita (Leonora)

1902 Vienna  Un der Wien Favorita (Leonora)

1902 Bergamo  Teatro Nuovo Favorita (Leonora)

1902 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Opera Favorita (Leonora)

1903 Rosario di Santa Fê  Teatro Olimpo Ballo in Maschera (Ulrica)

1904 Rosario di Santa Fê  Teatro Colon Favorita (Leonora)

1906 Lisbona  Teatro San Carlos Don Carlo (Eboli)

1906 Lisbona  Coliseo Recrejos Favorita (Leonora)

1907 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Coliseo Ballo in Maschera (Ulrica)

1908 Verona  Teatro Drammatico Favorita (Leonora)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Agnus Dei (Bizet) X-1585 Zonophone, Milano 1903
2. Carmen (Bizet) Scena della carte X-1582 Zonophone, Milano 1903
3. Favorita (Donizetti) O mio Fernando 053080 601½c G&T, MIlano 1906
4. Favorita (Donizetti) O mio Fernando X-1581 Zonophone, Milano 1903
5. Gioconda (Ponchielli) Voce di donna X-1586 Zonophone, Milano 1903
6. Lohengrin (Wagner) Vieni al mio castel (w. Corsi) 054086 603c G&T, Milano 1906
7. Mignon (Thomas) Leggiadre rondinelle (w.Rossi) 054085 602c G&T, MIlano 1906
8. Mignon (Thomas) Non conosci il bel suol X-1583 Zonophone, Milano 1903
9. Prophète (Meyerbeer) Aria della mendicante X-1580 Zonophone, Milano 1903
10. Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns) O aprile foriero X-1578 Zonophone, Milano 1903
11. Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns) S’apre per te il mio cor X-1579 Zonophone, Milano 1903
12. Trovatore (Verdi) Ai nostri monti (w. Sancovy) 54332 10370b G&T, Milano 1907
13. Trovatore (Verdi) Condotta ell’era in ceppi 053120 1039c G&T, Milano 1907
14. Trovatore (Verdi) Stride la vampa 53500 10372b G&T, Milano 1907
15. Trovatore (Verdi) Stride la vampa X-1584 Zonophone, Milano 1903