Lella Ricci (1850 – 7 October 1871) was an
Italian opera singer.
She was born in Italy as Adelaide Ricci to composer
Luigi Ricci Luigi Ricci may refer to:
* Luigi Ricci (composer) (1805–1859), Italian composer
* Luigi Ricci (vocal coach) Luigi Ricci (1893–1981) was an Italian assistant conductor, accompanist, vocal coach, and author.
Career
Ricci began studying music ...
and opera singer Ludmila Stolz (1826–1910; the sister of
Teresa Stolz
Teresa Stolz (born 2 June 1834, Elbekosteletz (Czech: Kostelec nad Labem), Bohemia – died 23 August 1902, Milan) was a Bohemian soprano, long resident in Italy, who was associated with significant premieres of the works of Giuseppe Verdi, an ...
). She inherited musical talent and enjoyed a great success in the Theatre ''Principe Umberto'' in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
.
Emilio Usiglio
Emilio Usiglio (18 January 1841 in Parma – 7 July 1910 in Milan) was an Italian composer and conductor.
Life and career
Usiglio studied music in Parma, first with Giuseppe Barbacini and then with Giovanni Rossi, before continuing his educat ...
composed the opera ''La scommessa'' for her (the first performance was on July 6, 1870, in Florence). At age 21, Lella Ricci was invited by
Bedřich Smetana to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
to sing in the comic opera ''
Crispino e la comare
''Crispino e la comare o Il medico e la morte'' (''The Cobbler and the Fairy or The Doctor and Death'') is an opera written collaboratively by Luigi Ricci and Federico Ricci with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave.
Performance history
...
'' composed by her father. When in Prague she became pregnant (possibly by Smetana) but to keep her career she chose abortion and died due to internal bleeding. She was interred in
Olšany Cemetery
Olšany Cemeteries (''Olšanské hřbitovy'' in Czech, ''Wolschan'' in German) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable art ...
.
1850 births
1871 deaths
19th-century Italian women opera singers
Italian people of Czech descent
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