Engràcia Pareto Homs (6 May 1889 – 1 September 1973), better known as Graziella Pareto, was a Catalan
soprano leggiero
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills.
The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of ...
, one of the leading sopranos of the inter-war years. She is considered one of the great coloratura sopranos of the "Spanish School" of the early 20th century, alongside
Maria Barrientos
María Alejandra Barrientos Llopis (4 March 1884 - 8 August 1946) was a Spanish opera singer, a light coloratura soprano.
Biography
Barrientos was born in Barcelona on 4 March 1884. She received a thorough musical education (piano and violin ...
,
Maria Galvany
Maria Galvany or María Galvany (1878? - 2 August 1927 J. B. Steane: ''Galvany, Maria'', in , Vol. 2, p.341.) was a Spanish coloratura soprano known for her showy, virtuoso singing technique. Her career, however, ended in obscurity.
Her biogra ...
and
Mercedes Capsir.
Biography
Pareto was born in
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. She studied in Milan, and made her stage debut in Barcelona, as
Micaela in
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
in 1906, and in Madrid, in 1908, as Amina in ''
La sonnambula
''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the '' bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eug ...
''. She made her debut at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
, as
Gilda
''Gilda'' is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth in her signature role and Glenn Ford. The film is known for cinematographer Rudolph Maté's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis's wardrobe fo ...
from
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
in 1914.
She appeared in Paris, London, Vienna, and St Petersburg, and had a long association with the
Teatro Colón
The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...
in Buenos Aires, where she sang from 1909 until 1927, also appearing with the
Chicago Opera Company
The Chicago Opera Company was a grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago City Opera Company, that produced six seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1940 to 1946 (excluding 1943). Artis ...
from 1921 to 1922.
Her best
roles included:
Rosina,
Norina,
Lucia,
Juliette,
Ophélie,
Leila, and
Lakmé
''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille.
The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in P ...
.
She retired to Naples, with her second husband, Dr Nando Arena (they wed on December 1st 1926). She had previously been briefly married to the composer Gabriele Sibella (they wed in August 1911). She died in
Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
on 1 September 1973.
References
External links
Pareto's discography can be searched at the National Library of Catalonia Album of artistic and family photographs and press clippings by Graziella Pareto. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4781432 (Zenodo). 25/05/2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pareto, Graziella
1889 births
1973 deaths
Opera singers from Catalonia
Spanish operatic sopranos
Singers from Barcelona
20th-century Spanish women opera singers