Dusolina Giannini (December 19, 1902 – June 29, 1986) was an Italian-American

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Biography

Born into a musical family in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 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 Spa ...

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 (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 opera ...

from 1935 to 1942, also appearing at the

Chicago City Opera Company The Chicago City Opera Company was a grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular desi ...

(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 dramati ...

. 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 The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

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 and

Anna Moffo Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agili ...

. 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