Alda Noni

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Alda Noni (born April 30, 1916 in Trieste , † May 19, 2011 in Cyprus ) was an Italian opera singer ( soprano ).

Life

At the age of thirteen, Noni first studied piano at the Trieste Conservatory. She came up with the idea of ​​becoming a singer through a friend who was studying singing and later studied singing at the Conservatory in Trieste with the famous Italian Verdi baritone Delfino Menotti .

In 1937 she made her stage debut as an opera singer at the Ljubljana Opera House in the role of Rosina in The Barber of Seville . This was followed by engagements at the Zagreb Opera House (1938–1940) and at the National Opera in Belgrade (1940–1941).

In 1941 she was engaged at the Vienna State Opera , of which she remained a member until the Austrian opera houses were closed due to the war in 1944. The conductor Karl Böhm was one of their sponsors there. At the Vienna State Opera she sang Despina in Così fan tutte , Norina in Don Pasquale , Oscar in Un ballo in maschera and Gilda in Rigoletto . In 1944 she sang the role of Zerbinetta in a festival performance of the opera Ariadne auf Naxos at the Vienna State Opera on the occasion of the 80th birthday of the composer Richard Strauss ; Strauss personally selected Noni to perform the role. After the Second World War , Noni made another guest appearance at the Vienna State Opera in June 1947. She sang again Gilda and also Violetta in La traviata .

In the post-war period Noni sang regularly at the Rome Opera House . Her roles there included Adina in L'elisir d'amore (1945, also in the 1947/1948 season), Norina in Don Pasquale (1945, also in the 1949/1950 season), Oscar in Un ballo in maschera ( 1945/1946 season), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (1945/1946 season), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (1946/1947 season and 1947/1948 season), Amina in La sonnambula (1946/1947 season) and Carolina in Il matrimonio segreto (season 1947/1948). In the 1950s Noni sang again Oscar and Despina (1950/1951 season), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (1953/1954) and in 1958 Sister Constance in the opera Conversations of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc and Lucieta in the opera Die four rascals by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari .

Since the 1948/1949 season Noni appeared regularly at La Scala in Milan ; her inaugural role there was the Carolina in Il matrimonio segreto . This was followed in the 1949/1950 season by Musetta in La Bohème , Nannetta in Falstaff (also in the 1950/1951 season), Zerbinetta, Norina, Gnese in Il campiello by Wolf-Ferrari and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte . She also sang Zerlina (seasons 1950/1951 and 1952/1953) and Adina (season 1950/1951) there.

Noni made guest appearances in Italy at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna (1948 as Norina, 1949 as Rosina, 1952 as Adina, 1954 as Lucieta and 1955 as Susanna), at the Teatro Comunale in Florence (1948 as Susanna), at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo (1949 as Ophélie in Hamlet , 1940 as Adina), at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples (regularly since 1949), at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa (1952, 1956 and 1957), at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa (1941 as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi , 1947 as Leila in Die Perlenfischer ), at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste (1944 as Lucia di Lammermoor , Gilda and Violetta) and at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1949).

Noni has also made international appearances. She sang at the Covent Garden Opera in London (debut: 1946 as Norina with Mariano Stabile as partner; 1950 as Nannetta), at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1947), at the Rio de Janeiro Opera House (1947 as Susanna, Adina and Sophie in Werther ; later again in 1956 as Zerlina), at the Berlin State Opera , at the Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon , at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (1957) and at the Oslo Opera House (1958).

She sang at the Festival in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome (1948 in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor ), at the Edinburgh Festival (1949) and from 1949 to 1954 at the Glyndebourne Festival ; there she appeared as Despina, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail , Oscar and Clorinda in La Cenerentola .

In 1955, after the birth of her daughter, Noni largely withdrew from the opera stage and reduced her appearances. She only took on individual engagements in selected productions. In 1958 she finally ended her stage career for family reasons. She later lived in Rome for a long time. Her daughter is the soprano Tiziana Sojat , who has mainly appeared in roles of the youthful-dramatic soprano and in operettas .

Noni died on the island of Cyprus at the age of 95; she had moved there many years before her death to spend her old age there.

Voice and sound documents

Noni sang mainly the subject of lyric coloratura soprano and the coloratura soubrette on stage ; However, she also took on classic soubrette roles. Critics often classified her voice as "soprano leggiero". Noni had a “technically excellently formed coloratura voice” (Kutsch / Riemens); her soprano was "light, flexible and with a warmth in her voice, which is not always found in coloratura sopranos in this form".

In addition to her convincing vocal interpretation, reviews also repeatedly highlighted Noni's acting potential and her talent for comedic roles.

The voice of Alda Noni has been passed down on numerous audio documents. Her glossy roles are largely recorded on records. There are complete recordings of the operas L'elisir d'amore (1954), Don Pasquale (1955), Lucia di Lammermoor , Le nozze di Figaro (1954) and La Cenerentola . Additionally, where EMI highlights from the opera Cosi fan tutte published in which Noni sings the role of Despina. Your recordings were not recorded directly at the Glyndebourne Festival , but separately from the rest of the cast in London at Abbey Road Studios .

The live recording of Ariadne's performance in 1944 at the Vienna State Opera has now been released on record by Deutsche Grammophon and later also on CD by other labels. In a recording of the opera Die Zauberflöte she sings the role of Papagena under the musical direction of Herbert von Karajan . There are also recordings of radio and television broadcasts on the RAI .

In addition, arias and recitals with Alda Noni with historical recordings were published on CD, as well as live recordings of performances from the Vienna State Opera from 1941–1944.

Occasionally, Noni also worked as a singer in sound films . In the revue film The White Dream (1943) she sang the song Kauf Dir eine Colorful Luftballon and lent the actress Olly Holzmann her singing voice.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Addio al soprano Alda Noni ( Memento of July 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Death report in: Il Manifesto of May 26, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c d e A coloratura star in dark times ORF Kultur, May 2, 2006.
  3. ↑ a b c d Alda Noni obituary in: The Daily Telegraph of May 24, 2011.
  4. ↑ List of roles by Alda Noni in: Chronik der Wiener Staatsoper 1945-2005 , p. 635. Löcker Verlag, Vienna 2006. ISBN 3-85409-449-3 .
  5. ^ Alda Noni passed away Obituary at Klassik.com from May 27, 2011.
personal data
SURNAME Noni, Alda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Trieste
DATE OF DEATH May 19, 2011
Place of death Cyprus