Mafalda Salvatini
Mafalda Salvatini (17 October 1886 – 13 June 1971) was an Italian opera singer who was primarily active in Germany during the first half of the 20th century. She excelled in the dramatic soprano repertoire of the Italian language and was one of the leading operatic sopranos in Berlin from 1908 to 1932. Although she performed as a guest artist in other German cities and in Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Latvia, she never performed at theatres in her native country. She made several recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon and Odeon record labels.
Life and career
Born in
Salvatini made her professional opera debut in 1908 at the age of 21 at the Berlin State Opera in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, together with Enrico Caruso, who is said to have carried her onto the stage because she would not come out to collect her applause.[2] She remained active at that theatre through 1914, singing such roles as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore and the title role in Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In 1912 she appeared as a guest artist at the Bavarian State Opera and in 1913 she made her debut with the Paris Opera as Valentine in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.[1]
In 1914 Salvatini joined the roster of singers at the
Outside of Berlin, Salvatini was a guest artist at the Vienna State Opera in 1922 and in 1928. She performed at the Semperoper in Dresden in 1927 and in 1928, and made appearances at the opera house in Riga. She also performed at opera houses in the Netherlands and Belgium, including La Monnaie in Brussels.[1]
When she moved to Berlin in 1908 she married Walter Gérard, a German scientist of Huguenot extraction, with whom she had two sons: the set and costume designer and painter
Her grandson Alexander Gérard, son of Charles E. Gérard and an architect and real estate developer, became - together with his wife, the art historian Jana Marko - the initiator of the new concert hall in Hamburg known as Elbphilharmonie.
References
- ^ a b c d e "Mafalda Salvatini at operissimo.com". Archived from the original on 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ^ Berliner Börsen Courier, 3. April 1908.
- ^ Website of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (http://www.deutscheoperberlin.de/?page=spielplandetail&id_event_cluster=10526&archive=1)
- ^ Matthias Frehner and Diana Mirolo. Rolf Gérard: A ninety-year visual diary, Benteli Verlags AG, Bern and Fondazione Rolf Gérard Ascona, 2007
Sources
- Andreas Frost (2011). Eine kurze Biographie von Adolf Friedrich VI., Biographisches Lexikon für Mecklenburg. Vol. Band 6. Rostock: Herausgegeben von Andreas Röpcke. pp. 17–20.
- Andreas Frost (2009). Neue Details zum Tod von Großherzog Adolf Friedrich VI. Vol. 124. Schwerin: Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher, herausgegeben im Auftrag des Vereins für mecklenburgische Geschichte und Altertumskunde e.V. von Andreas Röpcke. pp. 239–282.
- Frank Erstling (2001). Mecklenburg-Strelitz: Beiträge zur Geschichte einer Region. Vol. 1. Landkreis: Verlag Druckerei Steffen. p. 185.
- Georg Tessin, Helge bei der Wieden (1979). "Aus tausend Jahren mecklenburgischer Geschichte: Festschrift für Georg Tessin: zur Vollendung seines 80. Lebensjahres". Böhlau: 168.
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