Iris Adami Corradetti (19 March 1904 – 26 June 1998) was an Italian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

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&n ...

, and latterly a singing teacher.

Biography

Adami Corradetti was born in Milan in 1904. Her father, , was a noted

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

singer 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 ...

and other European venues, and a music critic. Her mother was Bice Adami, a soprano singer. Her younger half sister, Fiora Contino, became a conductor and music teacher. A soprano singer, Corradetti studied piano and taught herself singing. She debuted in 1926 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, playing the part of Coralità in the opera ''Anima Allegra'' by

Franco Vittadini Franco Vittadini (9 April 1884 in Pavia – 30 November 1948 in Pavia) was an Italian composer and conductor. As a composer he is mostly known for his operas and sacred music. Born in Pavia, he began his musical studies in 1903 at the Milan Cons ...

. In 1928, she was the protagonist at

in Milan, playing Rosalina in '' Sly'' by

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as '' Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by ...

. In the same season she sang her first Mozart part, that of Barbarina in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

''. Corradetti had a vast repertoire that included eighty works, of which thirty-five were first performances of a piece, and about a hundred roles, mostly by composers of early Romanticism, such as

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and Cimarosa, as well as

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

, and Mascagni. She also performed works by contemporary composers such as

Alberto Franchetti Alberto Franchetti (18 September 1860 – 4 August 1942) was an Italian composer, best known for the 1902 opera ''Germania''. Biography Alberto Franchetti was born in Turin, a Jewish nobleman of independent means. He studied first in Venice, the ...

, Giuseppe Mulè and

. The parts that were most noted in her career were those of Francesca, in ''

Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a co ...

'' by

Riccardo Zandonai Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he entered the Pesaro Conserv ...

and the ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' by

. In the 1930s, she recorded of some works for Italian radio. Corradetti officially retired from performing on 28 January 1946, during a

Martini & Rossi Martini & Rossi is an Italian multinational alcoholic beverage company primarily associated with the Martini brand of vermouth and also with sparkling wine (for example, Asti). It also produces the French vermouth, Noilly Prat. History The co ...

concert; although on 18 March 1957 invited to a concert, she gave a final farewell to her career. After her retirement, Corradetti dedicated herself to teaching singing, initially in the

Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello di Venezia The Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello di Venezia is a conservatory in Venice, Italy named after composer Benedetto Marcello and established in 1876. History The conservatory was established in 1876 as ''Liceo e Società Musicale Benedet ...

in Venice, and latterly in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Among her most famous students were

Katia Ricciarelli Catiuscia Maria Stella Ricciarelli (born 16 January 1946), known as Katia Ricciarelli (), is an Italian soprano and actress. Biography Born in Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music. ...

Mara Zampieri Mara Zampieri (born 30 January 1951 in Padua) is an Italian operatic soprano. She trained at Padua Conservatory. Zampieri has performed in the opera houses of Europe, including Milan, London, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Zurich, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisb ...

Lucia Valentini Terrani Lucia Valentini Terrani (29 August 1946 in Padua – 11 June 1998 in Seattle) was an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with Rossini roles. Life and career Born Lucia Valentini, she studied first at the Padua Music Co ...

Dunja Vejzovic Dunja ( sr-cyr, Дуња) is a Serbo-Croatian feminine given name which is in fact homonymous with the vocabulary word for " quince." It derives from the Russian pet form of the Greek name Evdokia. It is a popular name in Serbia, Croatia, and ...

, and

Wladimiro Ganzarolli Wladimiro Ganzarolli (January 9, 1932 – January 13, 2010) was an Italian operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles. Born in Venice, he studied in his native city at the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marce ...

. She participated as a judge on the panels of many singing competitions, held conferences and master classes, in Italy and abroad, and for her expertise was assigned artistic direction positions at various institutions. There are few recordings of her voice; three opera pieces were recorded in 1940 for

Cetra Records Cetra was an Italian record company, active between 1933 and 1957, the year in which, by merging with Fonit (Fonodisco Italiano Trevisan), it gave birth to Fonit Cetra. Its roster of artists included Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Lina Pagliughi, E ...

and a series of

concert aria A concert aria is normally a free-standing aria or opera-like scene (''scena'') composed for singer and orchestra, written specifically for performance in concert rather than as part of an opera. Concert arias have often been composed for particula ...

s, made from live recordings and today remastered on CD.

Discography

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

, ''

'': "

Un bel dì vedremo The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

" *

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece ''Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ' ...

, ''

Lodoletta ''Lodoletta'' is a ''dramma lirico'' or lyric opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni. The libretto is by Giovacchino Forzano, and is based on the novel ''Two Little Wooden Shoes'' by Ouida (pseudonym of Marie Louise de la Ramée). It was first p ...

'': "Flammen perdonami" *

, ''

'': "Paolo, datemi pace" *

Franco Alfano Franco Alfano (8 March 1875 – 27 October 1954) was an Italian composer and pianist, best known today for his opera ''Risurrezione'' (1904) and for having completed Puccini's opera ''Turandot'' in 1926. He had considerable success with several o ...

: "Ninna nanna partenopea" *

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

: "Les berceaux" – "Notre amour" – "Automne" *

: "Lontana" *

Giorgio Federico Ghedini Giorgio Federico Ghedini (11 July 189225 March 1965) was an Italian composer. In addition to orchestral works, in 1949 he premiered a one-act opera based on the American novella '' Billy Budd'' by Herman Melville. Life Ghedini was born in Cuneo ...

: "Dì, Maria dolce" *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

: "Cinq melodies populaires grecques" *

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...

: "Asturiana" – "Nana" – "Jota" (from ''

Siete canciones populares españolas ''Siete canciones populares españolas'' ("Seven Spanish Folksongs") is a 1914 set of traditional Spanish songs arranged for soprano and piano by the composer Manuel de Falla. Besides being Falla's most-arranged composition and one of his most pop ...

'') *

Goffredo Petrassi Goffredo Petrassi (16 July 1904 – 3 March 2003) was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.Petrassi, Goffredo. (2008). ...

: "Benedizione" *

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

: "Ein Swan" *

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

: "Pastorale"

Biography

Discography

References

Further reading