Celestina Boninsegna

Celestina Boninsegna(26 February 1877 Reggio nell’Emilia- 14 Febraury 1947 Milan) was an Italian operatic soprano who was particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi.

Career

Boninsegna began to study singing in her youth with Guglielmo Mattioli in Reggio nell’Emilia. She made her professional opera debut at the unusually young age of 15, singing Norina in Don Pasquale. She entered the Pesaro Conservatory shortly thereafter, where she studied under Virginia Boccabadati. In 1897 she made her début at Bari as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust. Subsequently she sang Rosaura in the first Rome performance of Mascagni’s Le maschere. This was followed by many engagments throughout Italy, Europe, and the United States including Covent Garden (1904), La Scala (1904–5), Teatro Real (1905–6), and the Metropolitan Opera (1906–7). She also appeared in Boston (1909–10), at the Liceu in Barcelona (1911–12), in St Petersburg (1914), and in numerous less important theatres in Italy and abroad. She retired from the stage in 1921 and spent the next two decades teaching singing.

Boninsegna possessed a rich, resonant voice with a wide compass that was particularly suited to Verdi. She was considered one of the finest interpreters of several Verdi heroines including the title role in Aida, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, and Leonora in both Il trovatore and La forza del destino. Critics particularly admired her smooth vocal delivery and the dignity and refinement that she gave to the vocal lines of the music. However, in an era of dynamic and passionate singing actresses (such as Gemma Bellincioni and Emmy Destinn), Boninsegna's acting skills were somewhat dull in comparison and her career suffered to some extent as a result. Furthermore, with the exception of Santuza in Cavalleria rusticana and the title role in Puccini's Tosca, Boninsegna was either unfamiliar with or simply not cast in the verismo repertory which was very popular during the time she was performing, a problem that prejudiced her career. However, she scored a great success on gramophone records, being one of the first dramatic sopranos whose voice recorded well.

Sources

• Rodolfo Celletti/Valeria Pregliasco Gualerzi: "Celestina Boninsegna", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed October 20, 2008), (subscription access)