Giannini, Dusolina

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Giannini, Dusolina

Giannini, Dusolina, American soprano, daughter of Ferruccio and sister of Vittorio Giannini; b. Philadelphia, Dec. 19, 1900; d. Zurich, June 26, 1986. She received early musical training at home, then studied voice with Sembrich in N.Y., where she made her concert debut on March 14, 1920. She made her operatic debut as Aida with the Hamburg Opera on Sept. 12, 1925, then sang in Berlin, Vienna, and London. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Aida on Feb. 12, 1936, and remained on its roster until 1941; she also appeared with other American opera houses. She sang again in Europe (1947-50), then taught voice. Giannini created the role of Hester in her brother’s The Scarlet Letter (Hamburg, June 2, 1938).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire