Born: 2 September 1896, Italy
Died: 2 August 1973
Country most active: International
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
A lovely Italian lyric soprano, Rosetta Pampanini made her 1920 debut in Rome as Micaëla in Carmen. She was soon heard in Naples and Bologna, and in 1925 was engaged by Toscanini to sing Madama Butterfly in the revival of the work at La Scala before performing internationally. Pampanini sang Puccini roles in Chicago for the 1931–1932 season, and from 1925 until 1940 she was considered perhaps the world’s leading Puccini singer. In 1935 the Metropolitan Opera’s newly-appointed general manager, Herbert Witherspoon, had intended to hire her, but he died suddenly, only a month after taking office, and the planned offer was not made. The soprano had a limpid (clear, bright) voice of fine quality, and she was an affecting artist.