  g(11696700)a(1393595))
| | Vitale Maria | | soprano |  
| She studied under the renowned Giannina Arrangi-Lombardi in Milan. At first it was assumed that her voice was that of a coloratura soprano; upon the recommendation of the composer Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli, she switched to the dramatic soprano repertoire. After singing in the Martini-Rossi concerts on Italian radio, she appeared as a guest at the Opéra de Paris with no less success. The following year, she sang there as Leonora in Il Trovatore, Aida, Norma, Elsa, Senta and the Brünnhildes in the Ring, the last in German. During 1951, the Verdi year, she sang several major parts in lesser known Verdi operas for RAI, some of which were recorded by Cetra (Lucrezia in I due Foscari, Giselda in I Lombardi, the heroine in Spontini's La Vestale as well as a recital of arias). She continued to sing in Italy: Norma at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Charlotte in Werther in Trieste, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera in Turin and Florence, but was not able to achieve the worldwide career she had hoped for. In 1953 she assumed the title role in Rossini's Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra for the Italian Radio, and in Edinburgh that of Desdemona in Rossini's Otello. As a rarity among Italian lyric artists, she was a successful interpreter of Lieder and gave recitals in German in Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Berlin. She retired at the height of her career and settled with her husband in the small town of Münsingen in Switzerland, where she lived unrecognised and withdrawn, unwilling to be reminded of her career. Later, she taught in the U.S.A., then returned to Europe and lived partly in Münsingen, partly in Milan. In addition to the Cetra recordings mentioned above, there are recordings of Verdi's Aroldo on EJS (1956) and I due Foscari on Morgan. |
|
|
|