Virginia Ferni Germano

Virginia Ferni Germano, from an 1885 publication.

Virginia Ferni Germano (16 December 1849 – 4 February 1934) was an Italian lyric soprano opera singer.

Early life

[edit]
Virginia Ferni Germano

Ferni was born in Turin to actress Francesca and cellist Antonio Ferni. Her siblings Angelo and Teresa were musicians, too. She studied violin and voice as a girl.[1][2]

Career

[edit]
Loreley libretto cover, 1890

Ferni debuted on the opera stage in 1876, in Charles Gounod's Faust, at Madrid's Teatro Reale.[3] She was the first to play Bizet's Carmen in Italian, at Milan's La Scala in 1885.[4] She created the title role of Alfredo Catalani's Edmea when it premiered in 1896, and of Catalani's Loreley, when it was first performed in 1890.[5]

Arturo Toscanini made his professional conducting debut in Italy for an 1886 performance of Edmea starring Ferni.[6] Her 1886 appearance as Mignon in Milan prompted a London newspaper correspondent to comment that "her appearance is, to say the least, hardly suited for portraying a very youthful gipsy girl" and concede that "her matured artistic abilities and fine voice sustain the part in a manner highly acceptable to her auditors".[7]

After retiring from the stage, Ferni taught voice in Turin. Among her students were Alba Anzelotti, Bianca Lenzi and Marisa Morel.[2][8]

Personal life

[edit]

Ferni married Carlo Germano, a violinist. Their son Carlo (1880–1916) was also a violinist.[1][2] She died in 1934 in Turin, aged 84.[9]

Legacy

[edit]

Ferni Germano's autographed photos of other performers are archived in the Fondazione Giorgio Cini art collections.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Elizabeth Forbes, "Virginia Ferni-Germano" Grove Music Online (2002).
  2. ^ a b c Karl-Josef Kutsch, Leo Riemens, eds., Großes Sängerlexikon (Walter De Gruyter 2012): 1436. ISBN 9783598440885
  3. ^ Virginia Ferni Germano chronology, La voce antica.
  4. ^ Victoria Etnier Villamil, "O ma Carmen": Bizet's Fateful Gypsy in Portrayals from 1875 to the Present (McFarland 2017): 175. ISBN 9781476663241
  5. ^ Program, Loreley Teatro Regio (Torino 1890): 4; in the U.S. RISM Libretto Project, Albert Schatz collection, Library of Congress.
  6. ^ Harvey Sachs, Toscanini: Musician of Conscience (Liveright Publishing 2017). ISBN 9781631492723
  7. ^ "Amusements in Italy" The Era (May 15, 1886): 13. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  8. ^ Virginia Ferni-Germano, ESDF Opera.
  9. ^ "Virginia Ferni Germano, Once Noted Soprano, Dies" Chicago Tribune (February 6, 1934): 16. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  10. ^ Virginia Ferni Germano, Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Virginia Ferni Germano.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virginia_Ferni_Germano&oldid=1231055256"