Description

MARIA FARNETI (FORLI, 8 DECEMBER, 1877 – SAN VARANO PRESSO, FORLI, 17 OCTOBER, 1955)

 

 

 

 

Farneti, “said to be the greatest beauty on the Italian stage”, made her official debut in 1899, as Mimi in La bohème in Sansepolcro. In 1900 she sang at Bologna with Enrico Caruso. In 1902 she made her North American debut and sang in Pietro Mascagni’s Iris in New York. In 1906 she gave her interpretation of Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly in Rome and Naples, and she was well-reviewed in Ariane in 1908. She sang on tours of South America, at theatres in Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro, in 1911 and 1913. She was the first to sing the title role of Mascagni’s Isabeau. Her last stage role was in Puccini’s La Rondine in 1917.

Farneti married a lawyer, Luigi Riboldi, in 1917, and spent her retirement in a villa on Lake Como. The Riboldis were friends with Arturo Toscanini and his wife, into the 1940s. Maria Farneti died in 1955, aged 78 years. There is a street named for her in Forlì, and another in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2015, there was a musical commemoration in Forlì to mark sixty years since her death.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1899 San Sepolcro  Teatro Dante Boheme (Mimi)

1900 Rimini Teatro Vittorio Emanuele Manon Lescaut (Manon)

1901 Venezia  Teatro La Fenice Andrea Chenier (Maddalena)

1901 Udine  Teatro Sociale Andrea Chenier (Maddalena)

1901 Genova  Politeama Genovese Boheme (Mimi)

1903 Buenos Ayres Teatro dell’Opera Manon Lescaut (Manon)

1903 Montevideo Teatro Solis Manon Lescaut (Manon)

1904 Montevideo Teatro Solis Lohengrin (Elsa)

1905 Roma Teatro Costanzi Boheme (Mimi)

1905 Rio de Janeiro Teatro Lirico Boheme (Mimi)

1906 Roma Teatro Costanzi Loreley (Loreley)

1907 Buenos Ayres Teatro dell’Opera Boheme (Mimi)

1907 Buenos Ayres Teatro dell’Opera Manon Lescaut (Manon)

1907 Montevideo Teatro Solis Manon Lescaut (Manon)

1910 Trieste Teatro Verdi Manon Lescaut (Manon)

1911 Buenos Ayres Teatro Coliseo Boheme (Mimi)

1911 Napoli Teatro San Carlo Manon Lescaut (Manon)

1911 Rio de Janeiro Teatro Municipal Boheme (Mimi)

1911 Montevideo  Teatro Solis Boheme (Mimi)

1911 San Paolo  Politeama Boheme (Mimi)

1911 Santiago del Cile  Teatro Municipal Boheme (Mimi)

1914 Milano Teatro Manzoni Boheme (Mimi)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea) Io son l’umile ancella 69203 XPh5098 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-03-13
2. Aida (Verdi) O cieli azzurri 69264 xPh 5159 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-04-05
3. Aida (Verdi) Ritorna vincitor!… I sacri nomi 69261, 69262, XPh5156, XPh5157 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-04-05
4. Amico Fritz (Mascagni) Non mi resta che il pianto 69204 XPh5099 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-03-13
5. Amico Fritz (Mascagni) Non mi resta GQ7170 WB4435 Columbia, Milano 1931-12-10
6. Colloque sentimental (Panizza) GQ7171 WB4430 Columbia, Milano 1931-12-10
7. Fanciulla del West (Puccini) Io non son che una povera fanciulla GQ7171 WB4436 Columbia, Milano 1931-12-10
8. Glicine (Sonzogno) B 4138 Columbia, Milano
9. Iris (Mascagni) Io piango GQX10326 WBX1078 Columbia, Milano 1931-08-10
10. Iris (Mascagni) La piovra GQX10326 WBX1079 Columbia, Milano 1931-08-10
11. Iris (Mascagni) L’era malata Fonotipia, Milano 1917-03-15
12. Iris (Mascagni) Un di, ero piccina GQX 10326 WBX 1079 Columbia, Milano
13. La luna e l’usignolo (Sonzogno) B 41752 Columbia, Milano
14. Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Tu, piccolo iddio GQ7170 WB4437 Columbia, Milano 1931-12-10
15. Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Un bel dì GQX10491 WBX1077 Columbia, Milano 1931-08-10
16. Manon (Massenet) Ancor son io tutt’attonita 69298 XPh 5198 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-03-15
17. Manon Lescaut (Puccini) In quelle trine morbide 69362 XPh 5257 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-04-03
18. Mefistofele (Boito) L’altra notte 69263 XPh5158 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-05-18
19. Otello (Verdi) Ave Maria 69245 xPh 5140 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-03-14
20. Otello (Verdi) Ave Maria BA28139 Edison 4-min cylinders, Milano 1910
21. Tosca (Puccini) Vissi d’arte 69260 XPh5155 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-04-03
22. Trovatore (Verdi) D’amor sull’ali rosee 69259 XPh5154 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-05-15
23. Wally (Catalani) Ebben Ne andrò lontana 69199 XPh5094 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-02-20
24. Wally (Catalani) Ebben Ne andrò lontana GQX10491 WBX1076 Columbia, Milano 1931-08-10
25. Wally (Catalani) Nè mai dunque avrò pace 69246 xPh 5141 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-03-15
26. Wally (Catalani) Se è scritto ch’io non debba… Prendi, fanciule serbata 69200, XPh5095 Fonotipia, Milano 1917-02-20