Emmy La Grua (also Emma, Emmi or Emilia) (born 15 May 1831 in Palermo; died after 1869) was a 19th-century Italian opera singer (soprano) who performed successfully internationally.

Biography

Emmy La Grua was the daughter of the royal Saxon chamber musician

Friederike Funk Friederike Funk, married name La Grua bzw. Funk La Grua (14 November 1796 - after 1863) was a German operatic soprano and Royal Saxon Kammersinger in Dresden. Life Born in Meissen, the daughter of a postmaster from her hometown received her vo ...

and the Italian tenorist Luigi La Grua. In 1837, she moved with her mother to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. She received singing lessons from her mother as well as from

Pauline Viardot-García Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a nineteenth-century French mezzo-soprano, pedagogue and composer of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, her name appears in various forms. When it is not simply "Pauli ...

and Caroline Ungher-Sabatier in Paris. In December 1850, Emmy La Grua made her debut in Dresden as Alice in "Robert the Devil" by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

. Other roles included Donna Anna from Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and Rosine in ''The Barber of Seville'' by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

. In the following years Emmy La Grua made guest appearances at the

Paris Opera 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 ...

, from October 1853 as prima donna at the

Vienna Court Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Si ...

, from 1854 in Turin and as well as further guest appearances in Vienna, Dresden and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. In 1855, together with Cavaliere Antonio Porto, she undertook a two-year concert tour (with high fees) to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. Afterwards she gave performances again in Paris, Vienna as well as Pest (today Budapest), in Saint Petersburg, Berlin and Munich. In the meantime she lived again in Dresden in 1859. In 1862 the singer gave guest performances in Barcelona, in 1864 in London and in 1865 in Italy and Spain. In 1867 she married in Palermo the colonel respectively general Giacinto Carini (1821–1880), an aide-de-camp of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

,''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik'' 5 July 1867, p. 247
Numerized
; ''Neue Freie Presse'' 16 June 1867
Numerized
. and retired from the public sphere.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Grua, Emmy Italian operatic sopranos 1831 births Year of death unknown