Margherita Roberti (1925 – January 23, 2021
[Obituary: American Soprano Margherita Roberti Passes Away, Aged 95](_blank)
''Operawire''. Retrieved February 12, 2021.) was an American
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 ...
tic
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 ...
who had an active international career that spanned from 1948 to 1988. Although she performed throughout the world, Roberti achieved her greatest success and popularity in Italy. A
dramatic soprano
A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a ...
, Roberti drew particular acclaim for her portrayals of Verdi heroines. Among her signature roles are Amelia in ''
Un ballo in maschera
''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''.
The ...
'', Elisabetta in ''
Don Carlos
''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...
'', Elena in ''
I vespri siciliani
''I vespri siciliani'' (; ''The Sicilian Vespers'') is a five-act Italian opera originally written in French for the Paris Opéra by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi and translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855. ...
'', Odabella in ''
Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
'', and the title role in ''
Luisa Miller
''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller.
Verdi's initial idea for ...
''. In 1970 she was awarded Order of knight by the Italian government president Giuseppe Saragat
(Commendatore della repubblica italiana).
Biography
Roberti was born with the name Margaret Jean Roberts to F.J. and Ethel Roberts in
Wayne County, Iowa
Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,497, making it the sixth-least populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Corydon.
History
Wayne County was formed in 1846 but was still ...
. Her father was a breeder of
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
cattle and she grew up on his farm in
Atlantic, Iowa
Atlantic is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Iowa, United States, located along the East Nishnabotna River. The population was 6,792 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 7,257 population in 2000.
History
Atlantic was founded ...
. Her family sold the farm when she was 12 and moved to
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine ( ) is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000. The county seat of Muscatine County, it is located along the Mississippi River. The lo ...
. The following year Roberti began taking voice lessons with
Herald Stark at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
. In 1943 she graduated from
Muscatine High School
Muscatine High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Muscatine, Iowa. The school is part of the Muscatine Community School District. Located approximately one mile east of U.S. Highway 61 in Muscatine, Muscatine High School t ...
after which she studied voice at
Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
. While at Hunter she met her husband Thomas Nobis, an engineer recently returning from duty in the United States Navy. The couple married in 1949 and in 1952 their daughter, athlete
Jennifer Figge, was born.
In 1948 Roberti made her professional opera debut with the
Saint Louis Opera. In 1951, she began performing regularly on the Chicago radio program ''Chicago Theater of the Air''. She would commute weekly from her home in
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...
to the Windy City for performances.
Roberti was advised to establish herself as an opera singer in Europe if she wanted to have a major opera career in the United States. So in 1956, she moved to Italy and began a rigorous course of study in opera with
Antonio Narducci among other teachers. She made her European debut the following year at the
Teatro Alfieri in Turin as Leonore in
Giuseppe 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 ...
's ''
Il trovatore
''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...
'' to a warm reception. It was at this time that she adopted the "italianized" version of her name that she used for the rest of her career.
After her European debut, invitations from major opera houses throughout Europe came pouring in to Roberti. In 1958 she sang Abigaille in Verdi's ''
Nabucco
''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, " Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, ...
'' for her
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 ...
debut. She was a regular performer at that house for the next ten seasons. In 1958 she portrayed the title role in Puccini's ''
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 dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
'' for her first performance at the
Royal Opera at
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
. That same year she made her first appearance at the
Arena di Verona Festival
Arena di Verona Festival (Verona Arena Festival) is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Verona ...
and made her debut at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...
as Amelia Grimaldi in Verdi's ''
Simon Boccanegra
''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had been ...
'' opposite Tito Gobbi in the title role and
Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States.
Early life
Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...
as Gabriele Adorno. Other international appearances included performances in Buenos Aires (1964 opera Ernani y 1965 Con "un Baile de Máscaras. Teatro Colón), New Orleans, San Francisco, Mexico City, and Israel.
Roberti made her debut 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 operat ...
in 1962 as Tosca to the Cavardossi of
Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli (8 April 1921 – 29 October 2003) was an Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was cel ...
. That same year she sang Tosca with Corelli for her debut with the
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani ...
. Roberti also sang the title role in Verdi's ''
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 December ...
'' in New York and Philadelphia that year. In 1963 she sang the title role in Verdi's ''
Luisa Miller
''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller.
Verdi's initial idea for ...
'' at the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
. She was also a repeat performer at the
Vienna State 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 S ...
from 1959 to 1964. She remained busy in opera houses in Italy for the rest of her career.
Fue una excelente soprano verdiana, por su magnífica expresión corporal, tonalidad y vocalización adecuada para interpretar sus óperas.
In 1970, Roberti was knighted by the Italian government for artistic achievement. Her final performance was a farewell concert given in the Quad Cities in 1988.
She died on January 23, 2021, at the age of 95.
Recordings
References
External links
Roberti, Margherita Biography at operissimo.com (in German)Biography of Margherita Roberti at /www.desmoinesregister.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberti, Margherita
1925 births
2021 deaths
American operatic sopranos
Hunter College alumni
People from Wayne County, Iowa
Singers from Iowa
People from Atlantic, Iowa
People from Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine High School alumni
21st-century American women