Rosetta Pampanini EIAR AND RAI Concerts 1940 and 1953.

Rosetta Pampanini was one of Italy’s leading opera singers of the interwar period, celebrated especially for her interpretations of the operas of Giacomo Puccini. Born in Milan on 2 September 1896, she studied singing with Emma Molajoli and made her operatic debut in Rome in 1920 as Micaëla in Carmen. Her career took off in 1925 when conductor Arturo Toscanini chose her to sing the title role in Madama Butterfly at Teatro alla Scala. The performance was a major success, and Pampanini soon became internationally renowned as one of the finest Puccini sopranos of her generation. She appeared at leading opera houses in London, Vienna, Barcelona, Paris, Chicago, and throughout Italy. Although best known for Madama Butterfly, her repertoire also included La Bohème, Manon Lescaut, Tosca, Turandot (Liù), Pagliacci, and several works by Mascagni and Giordano. Her voice was admired for its warmth, lyric beauty, and expressive intensity. 00:00 - 09:50 EIAR Concert, Turin, 26 August, 1940: AIDA (G. Verdi): Ritorna vincitor LOHENGRIN (R. Wagner): Sola nei miei prim'anni Orchestra Sinfonica of the EIAR, Conducted by Ugo Tansini 09:50 - 25:14 EIAR Concert, Turin, 31 August, 1940: IRIS (P. Mascagni): Un di (ero piccina) MANON LESCAUT (G. Puccini): Sola, perduta, abbandonata) AVE MARIA (F. Schubert, transcr. Weninger) CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Mascagni): Voi lo sapete, o mama Orchestra Sinfonica of the EIAR, Conducted by Ugo Tansini 25:14 - 31:52 RAI, 27 February 1953. Madama Butterfly: Tu, tu, piccolo iddio RAI Orchestra conducted by Gennaro D'Angelo 31:52 - 39:47 Interview (in Italian) with Rosetta Pampanini. 7 April 1972.