The first singer to perform the roles of Anna Bolena and Norma
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| Giuditta Pasta was a mezzo-soprano much in demand among 19th century composers |
Singer Giuditta Pasta, whose voice was so beautiful Gaetano Donizetti
wrote the role of Anna Bolena especially for her, was born on this day in 1797
in Saronno in Lombardy.
Her mezzo-soprano voice was much written about by 19th
century opera reviewers and in modern times her performance style has been
compared with that of Maria Callas.
Indeed, Vincenzo Bellini’s opera Norma, which Callas would
turn into her signature role, was actually written for Pasta in 1831.
Pasta was born Giuditta Negri, the daughter of a Jewish
soldier. She studied singing in Milan and made her operatic debut there in
1816.
Later that year she performed at the Theatre Italien in Paris
as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, but it was not until 1821 that her talent was
fully recognised when she appeared in Paris as Desdemona in Gioachino Rossini’s
Otello.
Giuditta married another singer, Giuseppe Pasta, in 1816 and
as well as being her regular leading man he handled her business affairs and
identified likely roles and composers who might wish to work with her.
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| An illustration of Giuditta Pasta in the premiere of La Sonnambula |
She sang regularly in Milan, Naples, Paris and London and
her unique voice attracted a lot of attention.
The French writer Stendhal wrote about her: ‘She can achieve
perfect resonance on a note as low as bottom A and can rise as high as C sharp
or even to a slightly sharpened D, and she possesses the rare ability to be
able to sing contralto as easily as she can sing soprano.’
He argued for a score to be composed expressly for Pasta.
Donizetti responded with the role of Anna Bolena in the opera of the same name
and Pasta performed it at Milan’s Teatro Carcano in 1830, giving the composer the
greatest success of his career to that point.
Bellini wrote for her the part of Amina in La Sonnambula and
the protagonist’s part in Norma and these were also major successes for Pasta
in 1831. She retired from the stage in 1835 when her voice began to
deteriorate.
After her husband’s death, she taught singing and among her
pupils were contralto Emma Albertazzi, soprano Marianna Barbieri-Nini, and the
English soprano Adelaide Kemble. Another pupil, Carolina Fermi, who also became
a noted Norma, taught the soprano Eugenia Burzio, whose recordings are known
for their passionate expression.
Pasta died in Blevio in the province of Como at the age of
67.
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| The Sanctuario della Madonna dei Miracoli in Saronno |
Travel tip:
Saronno, where Giuditta Pasta was born, is a large town in
Lombardy in the province of Varese. It is well known for the production of amaretti
di Saronno, small almond-flavoured biscuits, and the liqueur, amaretto. One of
the town’s most beautiful buildings is the Santuario della Madonna dei Miracoli,
built in 1498, which has a stunning fresco, The Concert of Angels, by Gaudenzio
Ferrari.
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| The Teatro Carcano is in Corso di Porta Romana on the south-east side of Milan city centre |
Travel tip:
The Teatro Carcano in Milan, where Giuditta sang the role of
Anna Bolena for the first time in 1830, is still a working theatre and can be
found in Corso di Porta Romana. Although it now presents mainly plays and
ballets, it was an opera house for most of the 19th century. It was built in
1803 on the site of a former convent for Milanese aristocrat and theatre-lover
Giuseppe Carcano. The world premiere of Anna Bolena took place at the theatre
on December 26, 1830 and the world premiere of La Sonnambula on March 6, 1831.
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