Dusolina Giannini (December 19, 1902 – June 29, 1986) was an Italian-American soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Biography

Born into a musical family in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Giannini was the daughter of Italian tenor Ferruccio Giannini (1868-1948), who came to the United States in 1885, and with whom she first studied, later studying with

Marcella Sembrich Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska (February 15, 1858 – January 11, 1935), known professionally as Marcella Sembrich, was a Polish coloratura soprano. She is known for her extensive range of two and a half octaves, precise intonation, charm, port ...

in New York. Her mother was the violinist Antonietta Briglia. She began in concert in 1923, in New York, also appearing in England. She made her stage debut in Hamburg, as

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

and Santuzza, later appearing in Berlin, Vienna, London. She sang at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

in 1934, as

Donna Anna ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spani ...

and Alice Ford, and made her debut at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

in 1936, as Donna Anna. In 1938, she created, in Hamburg, the role of Hester Prynne in ''The Scarlet Letter'', an opera composed by her brother

Vittorio Giannini Vittorio Giannini (October 19, 1903 – November 28, 1966) was an American neoromantic composer of operas, songs, symphonies, and band works. Life and work Giannini was born in Philadelphia on October 19, 1903. He began as a violinist under the t ...

(1903-1966). She sang at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

from 1935 to 1942, also appearing at the

Chicago City Opera Company The Chicago City Opera Company was a grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago Grand Opera Company, that produced four seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1935 to 1939 before it too suc ...

(1938–42) and the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

(1939–43). She also took part in the first season of the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

in 1943, as

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

. After the war, she continued appearing in Paris, London, Berlin, and Vienna, and then turned to teaching, notably in Zurich. Giannini's voice was a true dramatic soprano, backed by strong temperament and fine musicianship. She can be heard on a complete recording of ''Aida'' from 1928, opposite

Aureliano Pertile Aureliano Pertile (9 November 1885 – 11 January 1952) was an Italian lyric tenor. Many critics consider him one of the most exciting operatic artists of the inter-war period, and one of the most important tenors of the 20th century. Life and ...

. Giannini's sister, Eufemia Giannini-Gregory, was a respected voice teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and taught

Frank Guarrera Frank Guarrera (December 3, 1923 – November 23, 2007) was an Italian-American lyric baritone who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera, singing with the company for a total of 680 performances. He performed 35 differe ...

Judith Blegen Judith Blegen (April 27, 1943, Lexington, Kentucky) is an American soprano, particularly associated with light lyric roles of the French, Italian and German repertories. Life and career Blegen was raised and attended high school in Missoula, Mon ...

and Anna Moffo. Giannini died in Zurich on June 29, 1986, at the age of 83.

References

Sources

* ''Le Guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique'', R. Mancini & J.J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986), * ''Grove Music Online'', Max de Schauensee, Oxford Press University, April 2008. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giannini, Dusolina 1902 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American women opera singers American operatic sopranos Musicians from Philadelphia American people of Italian descent American expatriates in Switzerland Singers from Pennsylvania Classical musicians from Pennsylvania