Pia Tassinari
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Pia Tassinari
( b Modigliana , 15Sept1903; d Faenza , 15 May 1995). Italian soprano, later mezzo-soprano. She studied in Bologna with Cesare Vezzani and in Milan, making her début in 1927 as Mimì at Casale Monferrato. In 1932 she appeared at La Scala in the première of Antonio Veretti's Il favorito del re, and in the 1936 season she sang Elsa and Margherita and created Lucia in Riccardo Zandonai's La farsa amorosa. After World War II she extended her career to the Americas, but continued to appear at La Scala until 1956. At the Metropolitan in 1947 she sang Tosca to the Cavaradossi of her husband, Ferruccio Tagliavini, but her voice was by then considered too worn. From 1952 she sang principally in mezzo roles such as Carmen and Charlotte, giving her last stage performance, as Carmen, in Philadelphia in 1962. Her best solo recordings are those of the 1930s, fresh of tone and generous without being excessive in emotion. She was also an excellent Alice Ford in the first recording of Falstaff (1930); and as a mezzo she sang an effective Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera (1954).
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Pia Tassinari
Pia Tassinari (September 15, 1903, Modigliana - May 15, 1995, Faenza) was an Italian soprano and later mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertories.
Born Domenica Tassinari, she studied with Vezzani and Marcantoni, and made her debut in 1929, as Mimi, in Casale Monferrato. She sang widely in Italy before making her debut at La Scala in Milan in 1932. She also appeared in Russia and South America, and made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1947, as Tosca. She appeared in Naples in a notable revival of Saverio Mercadante's Il giuramento in 1955.
She sang a wide range of roles, including: Marguerite, Manon, Elisabeth, Elsa, Fedora, etc. She was also much admired in contemporary works by Zandonai, Wolf-Ferrari, and Respighi.
In the 1950s, as her voice darkened, she tackled successfully mezzo-soprano roles, notably Carmen, Charlotte, Amneris and Ulrica.
She was married to tenor Ferruccio Tagliavini with whom she often appeared on stage and on disc. They can be heard together in a number of complete opera recordings: Un ballo in maschera, Martha, Werther, L'arlesiana, and most notably L'amico Fritz, conducted by Pietro Mascagni himself.
Tassinari had a beautiful voice of great range, and she brought considerable warmth, sensitivity, and refinement to whatever she was singing.
Sources
- Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique, R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986), ISBN 2-213-01563-6
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Oxford Grove Book of Opera Singers
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