The Artistic Soprano
A Collection of Standard Ballads & Arias
featuring the cover image of Mme. Luisa Tetrazzini
published by M. Witmark & Sons, copyright date 1913
here's a little biography on the singer on the cover, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Tetrazzini was born in Florence,
the daughter of a military tailor. Reportedly, she began singing at the
age of three. Her first voice teacher was her elder sister, Eva
Tetrazzini (1862�1938), who also was a successful singer. Tetrazzini
later studied at the Istituto Musicale in Florence. According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (second edition, 1980), she made her operatic debut in Florence in 1890. The role was Inez in Meyerbeer's L'Africaine,
taken when the scheduled soprano canceled on short notice. The first
part of her career was spent mainly in the Italian provincial theaters
and touring in Russia (she performed to considerable acclaim in Saint Petersburg), Spain and South America.
Her 1890s' repertory consisted primarily of lyric-coloratura parts such
as Violetta, Philine, Oscar, Gilda and Lucia. Tetrazzini made her
American debut in San Francisco in 1905. The Metropolitan Opera's general manager, Heinrich Conried,
took an option on her services at that time but unaccountably failed to
engage her. After great success, she went on to New York where she was a
sensation, eventually working under contract to Oscar Hammerstein.[1]
After some legal difficulties in New York that blocked her from
performing, she held a press conference and declared, "I will sing in
San Francisco if I have to sing there in the streets, for I know the
streets of San Francisco are free." This line became famous. She won her
legal case, and her agent announced she would sing in the streets of
San Francisco. On a crystal clear Christmas Eve in 1910, at the corner of Market and Kearney near Lotta's Fountain,
Tetrazzini climbed a stage platform in a sparkling white gown,
surrounded by a throng of an estimated two to three-hundred thousand San
Franciscans, and serenaded the city she loved.[2]
In 1907 Tetrazzini made a sensational debut as Violetta in La traviata at Covent Garden in London,
where she was completely unknown, and from that point on she was an
international operatic superstar, commanding the highest fees and
selling out opera houses and concert halls wherever she performed. In
1908, Tetrazzini finally appeared in New York, not at the Metropolitan, but at Oscar Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera Company,
again as Violetta and again with great success. She remained loyal to
Hammerstein and appeared at the Met for only one season, in 1911-12
(giving just eight performances, in the roles of Lucia, Violetta, and
Gilda). From 1911 to 1914 she sang with the Boston Opera Company and Chicago Grand Opera Company.[3] At Boston, the Australian soprano Evelyn Scotney deputised for her in Lucia di Lammermoor, and the critics considered her "even better than Tetrazzini", an indication of the esteem in which Tetrazzini's name was held.[4]
Tetrazzini possessed an extraordinary vocal technique that enabled
her to surmount any vocal challenge with almost insolent ease. She had
complete mastery of runs, trills, staccati and vocal ornaments of all
kinds. She also had a brilliant upper register, extending to F above
high C. Unlike many other coloratura sopranos, such as Amelita Galli-Curci,
Tetrazzini's high notes were not thin and delicate, but full, powerful
and ringing. On the debit side of the ledger, her vocal registers were
not as well-integrated as those belonging to her direct soprano rival, Nellie Melba.
Also, although her lower register was strong, her middle voice was
comparatively 'white' in tone, with a quality which some American and
English critics described as "infantile". The Irish tenor John McCormack
even compared it, using hyperbole, to "the wailing of a cross infant".
With age, however, Tetrazzini's middle register filled out to some
extent; and the way that her mid-voice sounded, even when she was
younger, does not seem to have troubled the ears of Mediterranean
critics, going by their written record.
Tetrazzini was short and grew stout as she aged; but she could act
effectively on stage, especially in lively or comic roles. She was a
good musician, too, and the possessor of a zestful, vivacious
personality. These extra-vocal qualities come through on the many
records which she made. She recorded extensively for Victor and HMV. Her best recordings include a spectacular rendition of "Io son Titania" from Ambroise Thomas' Mignon and "Saper vorreste" from Verdi's Un ballo in maschera,
in which Tetrazzini's personality virtually jumps out of the grooves at
the listener. On a different note, her recording of "Addio del passato"
from La traviata is very moving and also demonstrates her fine legato, as is her "Ah non credea mirarti" from La sonnambula.
Her "Una voce poco fa," and "Ah non giunge," made for the Victor label,
remain, after all these years, unequalled for their sheer joy, easy
virtuosity and spectacular ornamentation.
Tetrazzini had a bitter feud with Nellie Melba at Covent Garden but was generally well liked by other colleagues, including Enrico Caruso and Frieda Hempel. Adelina Patti,
the premiere soprano of an earlier generation, and not known for
generosity towards other singers, was a fan of Tetrazzini's singing, and
made it a point to attend and loudly applaud the younger soprano's
performances.
After World War I,
Tetrazzini largely abandoned the opera stage for the concert platform.
She was less fortunate in her marriages (three of them) than in her
career, and her third husband dissipated the considerable fortune she
had amassed, forcing her to continue to give concerts long after her
voice had gone. Her last years were spent in financial difficulty and
physical decline. However, the soprano remained cheerful and lovable,
despite her reduced circumstances. She would often say, "I am old, I am
fat, but I am still Tetrazzini." In 1932, when she was retiring, she was
filmed listening to a recording of Caruso's rendition of "M'appari, Tutt'Amor,"
and began to sing along with the record showing that her voice still
had plenty of power (this video can been seen from the link below under
the External Links section). Tetrazzini died in Milan on April 28, 1940.[5] The state paid for her funeral.
The book is in good condition, with a a couple tape repairs to the spine and back cover
93 pages
Minor age/shelf wear to cover
See my other listings for other vocal ranges
Piano 5