Pederzini, Gianna

views updated

Pederzini, Gianna

Pederzini, Gianna , noted Italian mezzo-soprano; b. Vò di Avio, Feb. 10, 1903; d. Rome, March 12, 1988. She studied with De Lucia in Naples. She made her operatic debut as Preziosilla in 1923 in Messina; in 1930 she joined La Scala in Milan, where she sang until 1943; also appeared in Rome (1939–52), at Covent Garden, London (1931), and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1937–39; 1946–47). She returned to La Scala in 1956–57, creating the role of the Prioress in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. She was an outstanding interpreter of roles in Rossini’s operas; was also greatly admired for her interpretation of Carmen.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire