Virginia Ferni Germano (16 December 1849 – 4 February 1934) was an Italian lyric soprano opera singer.
Early life
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Ferni was born in Turin to actress Francesca and cellist Antonio Ferni. Her siblings Angelo and Teresa were musicians, too. She studied violin and voice as a girl.[1][2]
Career
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Ferni debuted on the opera stage in 1876, in Charles Gounod's Faust, at Madrid's Teatro Reale.[3] She was the first to play Bizet's Carmen in Italian, at Milan's La Scala in 1885.[4] She created the title role of Alfredo Catalani's Edmea when it premiered in 1896, and of Catalani's Loreley, when it was first performed in 1890.[5]
Arturo Toscanini made his professional conducting debut in Italy for an 1886 performance of Edmea starring Ferni.[6] Her 1886 appearance as Mignon in Milan prompted a London newspaper correspondent to comment that "her appearance is, to say the least, hardly suited for portraying a very youthful gipsy girl" and concede that "her matured artistic abilities and fine voice sustain the part in a manner highly acceptable to her auditors".[7]
After retiring from the stage, Ferni taught voice in Turin. Among her students were Alba Anzelotti, Bianca Lenzi and Marisa Morel.[2][8]
Personal life
editFerni married Carlo Germano, a violinist. Their son Carlo (1880–1916) was also a violinist.[1][2] She died in 1934 in Turin, aged 84.[9]
Legacy
editFerni Germano's autographed photos of other performers are archived in the Fondazione Giorgio Cini art collections.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b Elizabeth Forbes, "Virginia Ferni-Germano" Grove Music Online (2002).
- ^ a b c Karl-Josef Kutsch, Leo Riemens, eds., Großes Sängerlexikon (Walter De Gruyter 2012): 1436. ISBN 9783598440885
- ^ Virginia Ferni Germano chronology, La voce antica.
- ^ Victoria Etnier Villamil, "O ma Carmen": Bizet's Fateful Gypsy in Portrayals from 1875 to the Present (McFarland 2017): 175. ISBN 9781476663241
- ^ Program, Loreley Teatro Regio (Torino 1890): 4; in the U.S. RISM Libretto Project, Albert Schatz collection, Library of Congress.
- ^ Harvey Sachs, Toscanini: Musician of Conscience (Liveright Publishing 2017). ISBN 9781631492723
- ^ "Amusements in Italy" The Era (May 15, 1886): 13. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Virginia Ferni-Germano, ESDF Opera.
- ^ "Virginia Ferni Germano, Once Noted Soprano, Dies" Chicago Tribune (February 6, 1934): 16. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Virginia Ferni Germano, Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
External links
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- A painted portrait of Virginia Ferni Germano, by Rietti, in the Museo Teatrale (Scala) in Milan; at Getty Images.