Cesira Ferrani

Cesira Ferrani ( born Zanazzio; born May 8, 1863 in Turin, † May 4, 1943 in Pollone ) was an Italian soprano and opera singer. She was Puccini's Manon first and first Mimì.

Life

Cesira Zanazzio studied singing in Turin Antonietta Fricci (1840-1912) and debuted in 1887 as Micaela in Georges Bizet's Carmen at the Turin Opera House and in the same season as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Teatro Carignano in Turin. She has been engaged in various opera houses of Italy and France. In 1892 it appeared at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa as Amelia in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and under Arturo Toscanini in the title role of Alfredo Catalani's Loreley.

On February 1, 1893 Ferrani sang in the premiere of Puccini's Manon Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Regio in Turin, her partner was Giuseppe Cremonini ( 1866-1903 ), with whom she also appeared at La Scala. The Manon they could then give to various Italian opera houses and also at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. 1894 she was involved in the Milan premiere of Alberto Franchetti Il fior d' Alpe.

In 1895 she sang in L' amico Fritz Suzel at the Opéra de Monte- Carlo and the title role in the premiere of Giacomo Orefices Consuelo at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In the presence of his fellow composers Mascagni and Franchetti and to his great satisfaction, she designed the 1896 Mimì in the world premiere of Puccini's La Bohème at her home in Turin, but the audience gave only modest applause and the press was critical. The Mimì prevailed and was now her signature role, even with guest performances in Russia and Spain. In Genoa she sang on 17 January 1901 in Pietro Mascagni's Le Maschere who had a simultaneous premiere in the six major opera houses of Italy. In Genoa, the idea was canceled after half the time because of the unrest in the audience, even to the other houses, the opera was scandalous by.

Other famous roles of Ferrani were the Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, The Fanny in the Pièce lyrique " Sapho " by Jules Massenet, Charlotte in Massenet's Werther. In Wagner 's operas she appeared as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser and as Eva in the Meistersinger. At La Scala, she sang on 2 April 1908, the first Italian performance of Pelléas et Mélisande under Toscanini, this premiere was for them as much a failure as the following at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. The following year, 1909, she ended her stage career. She gave singing lessons and used henceforth in Turin continued her salon.