Amelita Galli-Curci

Amelita Galli-Curci
1882-1963
Italian Soprano

Studied piano at the Milan Conservatory, winning a gold medal and at the age of 16 was offered a professorship. She was inspired to sing by her grandmother. Operatic composer Pietro Mascagni also encouraged Galli-Curci's singing ambitions. By her own choice, Galli-Curci's voice was largely self-trained.Debut in 1906 at Trani, as Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto", Toured widely in Europe, Russia and South America. United States in the autumn of 1916 American debut as Gilda in Rigoletto in Chicago, Illinois on 18 November 1916 (her 34th birthday) was so wildly enthusiastic that she accepted an offer to extend her association with the Chicago Opera Association, where she appeared until the end of the 1924 season. Debut 1921 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Violetta in " La Traviata". Toured in 1924 Great Britain concert tour (She never sang in an opera there), where she appeared in 20 cities and a tour of Australia a year later.