AMELITA GALLI-CURCI

"Singing - my need, my life. Finding himself on a desert island, I would sing and there . . . A person who has committed a climb to the mountain ridge and not seeing the peaks higher than that in which it is located, has no future. I would never have agreed to be in his place. " These words are not just beautiful declaration, but the real action program, which throughout his creative career was guided by a distinguished Italian singer Galli-Curci.

"Above each generation dominates usually one great coloratura singer. Our generation will elect Galli-Curci singing his queen . . . "- said Dilpel.

Amelita Galli-Curci was born November 18, 1882 in Milan, the son of a prosperous businessman Enrico Galli. The family encouraged the girl′s interest in music. This is understandable - because her grandfather was a conductor, and my grandmother had once brilliant coloratura soprano. At the age of five she began to play the piano. With seven years Amelita regularly visits the Opera House, which became for her a source of the strongest impressions.

The girl, who loved to sing, dreaming to become famous as a singer, and my parents wanted to see Amelita pianist. She entered the Milan Conservatory, where she was responsible for the piano class of Professor Vincenzo Appyani. In 1905, the year she graduated from the Conservatory with a gold medal and soon became a fairly well-known teacher of piano playing. However, hearing the great pianist Ferruccio Busoni, Amelita bitterly realized that she will never be able to achieve such mastery.

Her fate decided by Pietro Mascagni, author of the famous opera rusticana. Hearing as Amelita, accompanying himself on piano, singing Elvira′s aria from Bellini′s opera "I Puritani," the composer said: "Amelita! There are many excellent pianists, but how seldom hear of this singer! . . You play no better than hundreds of other . . . Your voice - a miracle! Yes, you′ll be a great artist. But not a pianist, not - a singer! "

And so it happened. After two years of self-study skills Amelita gave an assessment of an opera conductor. After listening to her performance in the second act aria from "Rigoletto", he recommended Galli in Milan director of opera theater in Trani. So she got in the theater debut of a small town.

Photo — «Amelita Galli-curci»

The first batch - Gilda in "Rigoletto" - brought the young singer a resounding success and opened in front of her other, more substantial scenes of Italy. Party Gilda since forever become an ornament of repertoire.

In April 1908 she was in Rome - the first came on the stage "Costanzi. In the role of Bettina, the heroine of Bizet′s comic opera "Don piercing, Galli-Curci has shown himself not only an excellent singer, but also a talented comic actress. By that time, actress married artist L. Curci.

But to achieve this success, Amelia had yet to undergo "training" abroad. The singer performed in the season 1908/09 in Egypt, and then in 1910, visited Argentina and Uruguay.

In Italy, she returned already famous singer. Milan Dal Verma "specially invited her to the role of Gilda, and Naples′ San Carlo" (1911) is witnessing high skill Galli-Curci in "La Sonnambula. "

After another tour, artist, in the summer of 1912, in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile), came the resounding success in Turin, Rome. In the newspapers, recalling the previous statement is the singer, wrote: "Galli-Curci returned complete artist. "

In season 1913/14, the artist singing in Madrid′s Teatro Real. "traviata," "The Puritans," "Rigoletto," "The Barber of Seville" bring it to unprecedented success in the history of this opera.

In February 1914, the troupe of Italian opera Galli-Curci arrives in St. Petersburg. In the capital of Russia for the first time she sings of Juliet (Romeo and Juliet "by Gounod) and owl (" Mignon "Thomas). In both operas, her partner was LV Sobinov. Here′s how the press characterized in the capital′s interpretation of the actress heroine of the opera Tom: "Pretty Owl was Galli-Curci. Her beautiful voice, musicianship and beautiful technique gave her the opportunity to nominate the party Horned owl in the foreground. Brilliantly sung it polonaise, which concluded on the unanimous demand of the public, she repeated, taking both times trehchertnoe "fa". In the scenic respect it is the role of smart and fresh.

But the crown of its Russian triumphs became "La Traviata". The newspaper "New Era" wrote: "Galli-Curci - one of Violetta, which has long seen Russia.

Photo — «Amelita Galli-curci»

It is immaculate and the stage, and as a singer. Aria of the first act she sang with amazing virtuosity and, incidentally, graduated from it so puzzling cadenza, which we have not heard nor have Zembra nor Boronat: something stunning and yet dazzlingly beautiful. She has had outstanding success . . . "

Reappeared in their native lands, the singer sings with strong partners: the brilliant young tenor Tito Skipp and renowned baritone Titta Ruffo. In the summer of 1915 in Buenos Aires theater "Colon" she sings with the legendary Caruso in "Lucia. " "An extraordinary triumph Galli-Curci and Caruso", "Galli-Curci was the heroine of the evening!", "the rarest among the singers - both local critics regarded this event.

November 18, 1916 Galli-Curci made her debut in Chicago. After "Caro note" hall erupted unprecedented fifteen-minute ovation. And in other productions - "Lucia", "La Traviata", "Romeo and Juliet" - the singer took the same heat. "The greatest coloratura singer after Patti", "Fantastic voice" - these are just some of the headlines of American newspapers. In Chicago, followed by a triumph in New York.

In the book "Vocal Parallels" by the famous singer Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, we read: "The writer of these lines Galli-Curci was a friend and a kind of godmother in the first for his performances of" Rigoletto ", held in early January 1923 at the Theater Metropolitan. Later, the author does not just sing with her in "Rigoletto," and in "The Barber of Seville," "Lucia," "Traviata," Manon "by Massenet. But the impression left by the first performance of a lifetime. The singer′s voice I remember the flight, surprisingly uniform in color, a bit dull, but remarkably tender, reminiscent rest. Not a single "child" or whitewashing notes. The phrase of the last act of "There, in heaven with her mother dear . . . " is remembered as a miracle vocals - instead of the voices sounded flute.

Autumn of 1924 Galli-Curci made more than twenty British cities. The first concert of the singer in the capital′s "Albert Hall" made an irresistible impression on the audience. Magic spells Galli-Curci, " She came, she sang - and won! "," Galli-Curci Conquers London! "- wrote admiringly local press.

Photo — «Amelita Galli-curci»

Galli-Curci is not bound by long-term contract with any one opera house, preferring the freedom of touring. Only after 1924 the singer gave a final preference for the Metropolitan Opera. Typically, opera star (especially at the time), only minor attention was paid to the concert stage. For Galli-Curci they were two completely equal sphere of artistic creativity. Moreover, over the years, concert activity has become even prevail over the theater stage. But having said goodbye in 1930 with the opera, it has for several years has continued to perform live in many countries, and everywhere else was waiting for her success with the audience, because of their warehouse art Amelita Galli-Curci differed sincere simplicity, charm, clarity, winning democratic.

"There is no indifferent audience, so you do it yourself" - said the singer. At the same time, Galli-Curci never gave tribute to the hearty taste or bad fashion - great strides have been a triumph of artistic artist honesty and integrity.

With surprising tireless, she moves from one country to another, and the glory of it increases with every performance, with each concert. Her touring routes had been laid not only on the major European countries and the United States. She listened to many cities in Asia, Africa, Australia and South America. She served in the Pacific Islands, found time to be recorded on the plate.

"Her voice, - writes musicologist VV Timokhin - equally as beautiful as a coloratura soprano, and in cantilena similar sounding silver magic flute, to conquer a surprising tenderness and purity. Students from the first phrases, sung artist, were enchanted by the sounds of moving and smooth, flowing with amazing ease . . . Perfectly smooth, supple sound artist served as a wonderful material to create different, delicately sharpened images . . .

. . . Galli-Curci as a coloratura singer, perhaps, had no equal.

Perfectly smooth, supple sound artist served as a wonderful material for a variety of delicately sharpened images. No one played with a fluency of instrumental passages in the aria "Sempre libera" ( "Be free, be carefree") from "La Traviata, Dinorah, or arias in Lucia, and with such brilliance - his term in the same" Sempre libera " or the "Juliet′s Waltz" and all - without the slightest stress (even the high notes does not seem very high), which could give students the technical difficulties sung numbers.

Photo — «Amelita Galli-curci»

The Art of Galli-Curci made the contemporaries remember the great virtuosi of the XIX century and say that even the composers who worked in the era of the Golden Age of Bel Canto, could hardly imagine a better interpreter of their works. "If he Bellini heard such an amazing singer, as Galli-Curci, he would have applauded her no end," - wrote the Barcelona newspaper El Progreso in 1914, after performances of "La Sonnambula" and "Puritans. " This feedback Spanish critics, mercilessly "straightened" with many luminaries of the vocal world, quite revealing. "Galli-Curci is close to perfection as possible", - admitted two years later by the famous American diva Geraldine Farrar (an excellent performer of the role of Gilda, Juliet and Mimi), listening to "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Chicago Opera. "

Singer differed vast repertoire. Although it was the basis of Italian opera music - works of Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Puccini - but it is brilliantly acted, and in operas by French composers - Meyerbeer, Bizet, Gounod, Thomas, Massenet, Delibes. To this we must add the great performance as Sophie in "Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss and the role of Shemakhan queen in The Golden Cockerel "by Rimsky-Korsakov.

"The role of the queen, - celebrated actress - takes no more than an hour, but what is half an hour! For such a short period of time the singer is faced with all sorts of vocal difficulties, among other things, such as have not come up to old composers.

The spring and summer of 1935, the singer toured in India, Burma and Japan. Those were the last country, where she sang. Galli-Curci temporarily moving away from live performances due to serious throat disease, require surgical intervention.

In the summer of 1936, after intense study not only the singer returned to the concert stage, but also on the operatic stage. But she stood for long. Concluding remarks Galli-Curci took place in season 1937/38 year. After that, she finally removed at rest and secluded in his home in La Jolla (California).

Singer Died Nov. 26, 1963.