Rosa Ponselle

Rosa Ponselle ( born January 22, 1897 in Meriden, Connecticut; † 25 May 1981 in Baltimore, Maryland, actually Rosa Melba Ponzillo ) was an American opera singer (soprano ).

Life

Rosa Ponselle was born in 1897 as a child of Italian immigrants. From 1915 Ponselle occurred together with her older sister Carmela ( 1892-1977 ) as the Ponzillo Sisters in New York movie theaters and cabarets ( Vaudeville ). The impresario William Thorner was Carmela Ponzillo singing lessons and also heard singing Rosa Ponselle. Thorner gave her contacts with the Metropolitan Opera. Rosa Ponselle counted with her ​​flawless coloratura soprano of the biggest vocal talents of opera history. The tenor Enrico Caruso discovered and promoted the young singer and brought her to the Metropolitan Opera, where she made in 1918 on the side of Caruso ( as Leonore in La forza del destino by Giuseppe Verdi) on the opera stage a sensational debut. Her performance was a great success and makes Ponselle famous overnight. From 1918 to 1937 belonged to Rosa Ponselle 19 seasons in a row, the ensemble of Met at without ever occur to other U.S. theaters. In 1937 she finished her surprisingly active career and taught singing in Baltimore. Rosa Ponselle is one of the most outstanding singers in the entire history of opera. Her extraordinary, lush voice ( coloratura soprano) was rich in color, extremely balanced and effortlessly when changing tabs. From 1919 to 1926 she sang more acclaimed games. Among the most important games of their comprehensive 23 rolls repertoire included inter alia Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana, the Rezia in Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon, Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlos and Mathilde in Rossini's William Tell. 1927 Ponselle played their best game well: the title role in Bellini's Norma. Other roles were Ponchielli's Gioconda, Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Verdi's Aida, Elisabetta in Don Carlos, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il Trovatore and La Traviata Violetta.

From 1929 to 1931 Ponselle sang three seasons in London at Covent Garden Royal Opera House turn the Norma, as well as the role of Violetta in La Traviata. The performances in London were great successes for Ponselle. In 1933 she gave her only stint in Italy. At the Opera House in Florence, she played Juliet in La vestal by Gaspare Spontini.

In 1935, she sang her last role at the Met, the Carmen by Georges Bizet. Contrary to expectations, Ponselle got harsh reviews for this gig. She graduated in 1937 one last tour with the ensemble of Carmen and then retired from the stage of life. The year before, she had married the American industrialist Carle A. Jackson, from which they could be divorced again in 1949. Ponselle moved to Baltimore and got the late 1940s a senior position in the still stuck in its infancy Baltimore Civic Opera. There she gave singing lessons, her students were Beverly Sills, Sherrill Milnes, Plácido Domingo and James Morris. In 1954, she took a number of its major roles on records. Besides classical music, Ponselle sang American folk songs such as " My Old Kentucky Home" and " Carry me back to old Virginny ."

Sample

Discography (selection)

  • American Recordings Vol 1: Rosa Ponselle, 2006
  • The Columbia R, 2006
  • Casta Diva, 2006
  • Ponselle: operas and songs, 1997
  • Prima Voce: Rosa Ponselle Vol 3, 1997
  • Prima Voce: Rosa Ponselle Vol 2, 1997
  • Songs and operettas 1918 - 1939, 2002
Meriden (Connecticut) May 25 Comédie en vaudeville Vincenzo Bellini Norma (opera) Integrated Authority File
656132
de