Maria Labia
Maria Labia (14 February 1880,
Italian operatic dramatic soprano who was particularly associated with roles of the verismo
repertoire.
Career
Labia studied voice with her mother, Cecilia Labia, who was also an opera singer. She made her professional opera début in
I quattro rusteghi
(1922), a role that became her favourite and in which she continued to appear until 1936. Her performances in verismo operas were said to be impulsive and, for their day, ‘shamelessly sensual’. She used her warm, not especially large voice with particular reliance on the chest register. Some early recordings remain of her Tosca and Carmen.
Her elder sister
Toscanini at La Scala. She retired shortly after her marriage to the tenor Emilio Perea
].
Sources
- Harold Rosenthal: "Maria Labia", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed October 31, 2008), (subscription access)
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