Hidalgo, Elvira de (1892–1980)
Hidalgo, Elvira de (1892–1980)
Spanish soprano. Born on December 27, 1892, in Aragòn, Spain; died on January 21, 1980, in Milan, Italy; studied with Concetta Bordalba and Melchiorre Vidal.
Debuted in Naples (1908), Metropolitan Opera (1910), Covent Garden (1924); retired (1932); became a teacher who was best known for her famous pupil, Maria Callas.
Elvira de Hidalgo, the Spanish soprano, is best remembered as the teacher of Maria Callas , though she established a career of her own before becoming a teacher. Born in Spain in 1892, she debuted in Milan and then went on to great success at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris, the Khedive in Cairo, and finally the Metropolitan Opera. De Hildago's voice had an attractive timbre which reached to a top D. She made a number of recordings which are especially interesting because her style is also reflected in Callas' singing. When de Hidalgo retired in 1932, she went to the Athens Conservatory where she taught Callas, the young American-born singer of Greek parentage, beginning in 1937. The accuracy of embellishments and use of sufficient chest voice characterized de Hidalgo's singing as they also would Callas'.
John Haag , Athens, Georgia