Background
Countess Gilda Ruta Cagnazzi was born in Naples, the daughter of composer Michele Ruta and English singer Emilia Sutton. She studied music with her father and with the opera composer Saverio Mercadante.
Countess Gilda Ruta Cagnazzi was born in Naples, the daughter of composer Michele Ruta and English singer Emilia Sutton. She studied music with her father and with the opera composer Saverio Mercadante.
After being widowed at age of 27 with two children, she began composing. She moved to New York City, taught private piano lessons in Greenwich Village, and died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Manhattan at age 79.