Hump Day History
Born in 1923, she died on this day in 1977.
When she was 13, she left her home in New York City to study in Athens, with the noted soprano Elvira de Hidalgo. She was 24 when she landed her first major operatic role.
Her talent was so strong that it allowed for the revival of 19th century bel canto works by Bellini and others that had not been performed for decades.
"Bel canto" simply means "beautiful singing," but it is an operatic style and technique that focuses on smooth phrasing, pure tone, and vocal agility over dramatic expression.
In 1954, she made her American debut in Norma.
Vicenzo Bellini was born in 1801. He wrote his first opera in 1825. In the following ten years of his life, he wrote 10 more. While in Paris, he frequented a political salon, where he met Italian revolutionaries, and one Austrian exile who opposed domination of Italy.
The latter would be his final librettist, Count Carlo Pepoli. For his eight previous works, it was Felice Romani.
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