Description

IVA PACETTI (PRATO, 13 DECEMBER, 1898 – MILAN, 19 JANUARY, 1981)

 

 

 

 

She studied singing in Florence and Milan. She made her debut in 1920 at the Teatro Metastasio in Prato as Aida. In 1921, she appeared as a guest at the Lexington Theatre in New York, also as Aida. In 1922, she achieved great success at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa as Elena in Boito’s Mefistofele; and in 1923, she appeared at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in the world premiere of Mario Persico’s Morenita.

In 1925, she made her debut at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome as Minnie in Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West. During the same season, she also sang the title role in Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini under the direction of the composer himself. In 1926, she created the title role in the Roman premiere of Puccini’s Turandot. That same year, she performed at the opera houses of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and from 1927 to 1928 she embarked on a major South American tour (Chile, Peru, and Cuba).

In 1927, she was invited to La Scala in Milan, where she achieved great acclaim as Ariane in Dukas’s Ariane et Barbe-bleue under Toscanini (after an earlier appearance there in 1922 as Elena in Mefistofele had been unsuccessful). By 1942, she was regarded as one of La Scala’s leading prima donnas and was particularly celebrated as the stage partner of Beniamino Gigli.

At La Scala, she sang such roles as Leonora in Il Trovatore, Aida, Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello, the title role in Pizzetti’s Fedra, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, the Dyer’s Wife in the premiere of Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten (1940), and, in 1942, her final role—Constance—in the Italian premiere of Cherubini’s Les deux journées (142 years after its Paris debut). She also appeared there in the world premieres of Gino Robbiani’s Guido del Popolo (1933) and Ennio Porrino’s Gli Orazi (1941).

In 1928, she took part in a German tour with Max Sauter’s opera company. From 1930 to 1933, she performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London as Tosca, Desdemona, and Leonora in Verdi’s La forza del destino, returning again as Tosca in 1938. In 1930, she was a guest artist at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and in 1933 she sang Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Verona Arena Festival. In 1936, she appeared as Norma at the Monte Carlo Opera. From 1931 to 1932, she sang Tosca, Aida, and Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Chicago Opera. In 1935, she appeared at the Rome Opera as Imogene in Bellini’s long-unperformed Il Pirata.

She retired from the stage in 1947 at the Rome Opera, singing Turandot as her farewell role.

Her repertoire also included Amelia in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, the title roles in Catalani’s La Wally and Giordano’s Fedora, as well as several German roles such as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Isolde in Tristan und Isolde, Brünnhilde in the Ring cycle, Kundry in Parsifal, and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier.

After concluding her stage career, she worked as a voice teacher in Milan. Her luminous soprano, distinguished by its wide range and dramatic expressiveness, was frequently praised, as was her commanding stage presence.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Norma (Bellini) Casta diva D12288, WB2116-2 Columbia, Milano 1928-09-27

Norma (Bellini): Deh, non volerli vittimi, pt 1, pt 2 D12287, D12287, WB2120-1, WB2121-1 Columbia, Milano 1928-10-02

Ernani (Verdi): Ernani, Ernani involami D14477, WBX333 Columbia, Milano 1928-09-29

Trovatore (Verdi): D’amor sull’ali rosee D14477 Columbia, Milano 1928?

Forza del destino (Verdi): Pace mio Dio D14476 Columbia, Milano 1928?

Gioconda (Ponchielli): Suicidio D12316 Columbia, Milano 1928?

Gioconda (Ponchielli): Così mantieni il patto (w. Montesanto) D14495 WBX322 Columbia, Milano 1928-09-26

Wally (Catalani): Ebben ne andrò lontana D12286 WB2107-1 Columbia, Milano 1928-09-24

Andrea Chénier (Giordano): La mamma morta D14476 Columbia, Milano 1928?

Serenata (Mascagni) D12286 WB2105-2 Columbia, Milano 1928-09-24