Description

CARMEN MELIS (CAGLIARI, ITALY, 15 AUGUST, 1885 – LONGONE AL SEGRINO, ITALY, 19 DECEMBER, 1967)

 

 

 

 

She made her debut as Thaïs in Novara in 1905 and achieved great success in Naples the following year with Pietro Mascagni’s Iris. She also performed in Rome and toured Russia and Poland in 1907. From 1909 to 1913, Carmen Melis was part of Oscar Hammerstein’s company at the Manhattan Opera House in New York, where she was admired for her Latin temperament as well as her voice. In Boston, her roles included Desdemona and Helen of Troy, with the heroines of Giacomo Puccini at the center of her repertoire.

She appeared at Covent Garden in 1913, performing in Pagliacci and La Bohème with Enrico Caruso. On her return to Covent Garden in 1929, her voice had faded, resulting in an overplayed Musetta and an undersung Tosca. Despite this, she remained a favorite at La Scala, where she sang Ginevra in the premiere of Umberto Giordano’s La cena delle beffe in 1924, and in Buenos Aires, where she took on more unexpected roles such as the Marschallin and Sieglinde.

Later, she turned to teaching, with Renata Tebaldi among her pupils. Known primarily as a verismo soprano, Carmen Melis was one of the most compelling singing actresses of the early 20th century.

 

CHRONOLOGY OF APPEARANCES

 

 

1907 Roma Teatro Costanzi Boheme (Mimi)

1909 Philadelphia  Teatro dell’Opera Cavalleria Rusticana (Santuzza)

1910 New York  Teatro Manhattan Opera House Boheme (Mimi)

1910 Philadelphia  Philadelphia Opera House Boheme (Mimi)

1912 Boston  Opera House Boheme (Mimi)

1914 Bilbao Teatro Arriaga Boheme (Mimi)

1917 Santiago del Cile  Teatro Municipal Andrea Chenier (Maddalena)

1919 Santiago del Cile  Teatro Municipal Andrea Chenier (Maddalena)

1926 Santiago del Cile  Teatro Municipal Andrea Chenier (Maddalena)

1915 Genova  Politeama Genovese Boheme (Mimi)

1917 Modena  Teatro Storchi Boheme (Mimi)

1917 Santiago del Cile  Teatro Municipal Boheme (Mimi)

1918 Alessandria  Teatro Municipale Boheme (Mimi)

1918 Tortona  Teatro Civico Boheme (Mimi)

1919 Roma  Teatro Costanzi  Boheme (Mimi)

1919 Costantinopoli  Teatro Noveau Boheme (Mimi)

1920 Havana Teatro Nacional Carmen (Micaela)

1932 Padova Teatro Verdi Adriana Lecouvreur ( Adriana)

1932 Genova Teatro Carlo Felice Adriana Lecouvreur ( Adriana)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Jana (Virgilio) Or se l’antico palpito (w. Minolfi) (orch Virgilio) 54333 10676b G&T, Milano 1907
2. Louise (Charpentier) Romanza di Luisa (Depuis le jour) 69209 XPh5104 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-02-06
3. Madama Butterfly (Puccini)  Un bel di, vedremo 69271 XPh 5166 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-02-02
4. Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Ancora un passo D9437 B111 Columbia, Milano 1923/1924
5. Manon (Massenet)  Ah, mi rendi il tuo cor… La tua mano non e D 5060 B 109 Columbia, Milano 1923/1924
6. Manon (Massenet) Addio o nostro picciol desco D5060 B108 Columbia, Milano 1923/1924
7. Manon Lescaut (Puccini) In quelle trine morbide 69272 XPh  5167 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-02-07
8. Otello (Verdi) Esterefatta Fisso D9438 B121 Columbia, Milano 1923/1924
9. Torna a Surriento (de Curtis) 82050 2191 Edison, New York 1913
10. Torna a Surriento (De Curtis) 40020 Edison 4-min cylinders, New York 1910
11. Tosca (Puccini)  Vissi d’arte 40011 Edison 4-min cylinders, New York 1910
12. Tosca (Puccini) Mia Tosca idolatrata (w. Gasparini) 12636 Zonophone, New York 1907?
13. Tosca (Puccini) Non la sospiri la nostra casetta (w. Polverosi) 69207 XPh5102 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-04-03
14. Tosca (Puccini) Vissi d’arte 83005 2224 Edison, New York 1913
15. Tosca (Puccini) Vissi d’arte 69208 XPh5103 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-04-03
16. Wally (Catalani) Ne mai dunque D9439 B124 Columbia, Milano 1923/1924
17. Zazà (Leoncavallo) Dir che ci sono al mondo 40016 Edison 4-min cylinders, New York 1910
18. Carmen Melis. Interview