Amelita Galli-Curci

January 18, 1882 (age 81)

Milan, Italy

Galli-Curci made her operatic debut in 1906 at Trani, as Gilda in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, and she rapidly became acclaimed throughout Italy for the sweetness and agility of her voice and her captivating musical interpretations. She was seen by many critics as an antidote to the host of squally, verismo-oriented sopanos then populating Italian opera houses. The soprano had toured widely in Europe, Russia and South America. In 1915, she sang two performances of Lucia di Lammermoor with Enrico Caruso in Buenos Aires. These were to be her only operatic appearances with the great tenor, though they later appeared in concert and made a few recordings together. Galli-Curci and Caruso also acted as godparents for the son of the Sicilian tenor Giulio Crimi. Galli-Curci toured extensively throughout her career, including a 1924 Great Britain concert tour (She never sang in an opera there), where she appeared in 20 cities and a tour of Australia a year later. From the time she made her debut in the role of Gilda in Rigoletto in 1906 until goiter forced her retirement from opera in 1930, her full and golden voice won great praise; at her best she was not excelled by any coloratura of her day. After her American debut (Chicago, 1916) she sang with the Chicago Opera Company until 1924.

Amelita Galli-Curci

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coloratura soprano

Background

She was born as Amelita Galli into an upper-middle-class family in Milan, Italy in 1882.

Education

She studied piano at the Milan Conservatory and meanwhile trained her own voice.

Career

Galli-Curci made her operatic debut in 1906 at Trani, as Gilda in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, and she rapidly became acclaimed throughout Italy for the sweetness and agility of her voice and her captivating musical interpretations. She was seen by many critics as an antidote to the host of squally, verismo-oriented sopanos then populating Italian opera houses.

The soprano had toured widely in Europe, Russia and South America. In 1915, she sang two performances of Lucia di Lammermoor with Enrico Caruso in Buenos Aires. These were to be her only operatic appearances with the great tenor, though they later appeared in concert and made a few recordings together. Galli-Curci and Caruso also acted as godparents for the son of the Sicilian tenor Giulio Crimi.

Galli-Curci toured extensively throughout her career, including a 1924 Great Britain concert tour (She never sang in an opera there), where she appeared in 20 cities and a tour of Australia a year later.

From the time she made her debut in the role of Gilda in Rigoletto in 1906 until goiter forced her retirement from opera in 1930, her full and golden voice won great praise; at her best she was not excelled by any coloratura of her day.

After her American debut (Chicago, 1916) she sang with the Chicago Opera Company until 1924.

Achievements

Galli-Curci is honored on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame for recording, with a star located at 6121 Hollywood Boulevard.

Works

Amelita Galli-Curci: The Victor Recordings (1925-28) Amelita Galli-Curci: The Victor Recordings (1925-28)

Amelita Galli-Curci: The Early Recordings Amelita Galli-Curci: The Early Recordings

book
- Amelita Galli-Curci: The Early Recordings
  (The earliest recordings of soprano Amelita Galli-Curci (1...)
- Amelita Galli-Curci: The Victor Recordings (1925-28)

Connections

In 1908 Galli-Curci wed an Italian nobleman, the Marchese Luigi Curci, attaching his surname to hers. They divorced in 1920. The Marchese Curci petitioned the papal council in Rome for an annulment of the marriage in 1922.

In 1921, Galli-Curci married Homer Samuels, her accompanist. Their marriage lasted until Samuels' death in 1956.

spouse(1):: the Marchese Luigi Curci
spouse(2):: Homer Samuels
teacher:: Paramahansa Yogananda

Main Photo