Stignani, Ebe

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Stignani, Ebe

Stignani, Ebe, esteemed Italian mezzo-soprano; b. Naples, July 11, 1904; d. Imola, Oct. 6, 1974. She studied voice with Agostino Roche at the Naples Cons. She made her operatic debut as Amneris at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples (1925); then joined Milan’s La Scala in 1926, winning great distinction for her roles in Italian operas as well as Gluck’s Orfeo, Brangäne, and Ortrud. She made guest appearances at London’s Covent Garden, winning success as Amneris (1937, 1939, 1955), Azucena (1939, 1952), and Adalgisa (1952, 1957); also sang in San Francisco (1938, 1948). In 1958 she made her operatic farewell as Azucena at London’s Drury Lane.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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