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Giannina Arangi-Lombardi (Soprano) (Marigliano presso, Napoli 1891 - Milano 1951)
At the turn of the century there was a dramatic and rather abrupt change in the style with which composers such as Verdi were sung. Gemma Bellincioni had altered the presentation of opera both in Italy and around the world with her declamatory style, epitomized by her portrayal of Cavalleria Rusticana at its World Premiere. Following her example, the great dramatic, Eugenia Burzio, went much further in imposing the veristic model upon such operas as Aida, Il Trovatore, and especially Norma and La Gioconda. Her example was to be emulated by some of the greatest Italian sopranos of the century, among them: Ester Mazzoleni, Bianca Scacciati, and Maria Caniglia. It was the way audiences wanted to hear opera and it was the rarest of the breed who would attempt to maintain a tradition of less flamboyant vocalism. The few who did were often seen as too placid, uninvolved and ultimately unexciting. They were: Celestina Boninsegna, Giannina Russ and a generation later, Giannina Arangi Lombardi. The traditions of nineteenth century vocalism were paramount to their approach, and they succeeded against the odds, though none of the three was considered the greatest in her time. This is the story of the last of that breed, Giannina Arangi Lombardi. Giannina was born on 20 June 1891 in the town of Marigliano on the outskirts of Naples and she had a very unexceptional childhood. She did however have obvious musical inclinations and in 1911, after six years of study, Giannina received a diploma in piano and voice from the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella at Naples. Degree in hand, she joined her family, who had moved to Rome, and remained at home, mostly entertaining herself at the piano. On 29 July 1912, after a whirlwind courtship, Giannina Lombardi married Lorenzo Arangi at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, after which the couple set up their home in Palermo, Renzos birthplace. Giannina taught and gave occasional amateur recitals at Palermo's Liceo Cherubini over several years before deciding that several encouraging friends were correct about her latent vocal talents, and, in the autumn of 1919, Giannina made her professional debut as a mezzo-soprano at Palermos Circolo Geraci. She sang "Stride la vampa" from Il Trovatore. She received a very warm ovation from a very friendly audience and immediately resolved that the lyric stage was where she wished to be. After several months of formal study, Giannina debuted in opera at Rome's Teatro Costanzi on 25 September 1920 as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana and was very highly praised by the Roman critics. The season continued with performances of Afra in La Wally and Beppe in LAmico Fritz. Her engagement in Rome ended in late November and, after returning to her home, she appeared on 9 December at Palermo's Teatro Biondo as Adalgisa to the Norma of Ester Toninello. It was a sensation and made musical headlines throughout Sicily. She appeared in three other operas: Amneris in Aida, Laura in La Gioconda and La Favorita. As soon as the season at the Biondo was concluded, she debuted at the far more important Massimo on 1 March 1921 as Samaritana in Francesca da Rimini followed by Laura in La Gioconda with Tina Poli Randaccio and Pantalis in Mefistofele. It was a remarkable rise for the totally unknown newcomer and in four months she had appeared before the Palermo public over fifty times. After performances as Laura at Carpi and Finale Emilia, Giannina debuted at Milan's most important theater, La Scala being closed at that time, the Dal Verme. The role was Amneris and the date was 1 October. It was a headline story in the Milan newspapers and Giannina was retained for seven performances of Brangaene in Tristan and Isolde. I will note here that every source that I have lists Azucena at the Dal Verme as one of Arangi's roles, but my annals of that theater do not indicate that she sang it there, or anywhere else. Giannina debuted at Parma's Teatro Regio on 29 December as Laura with Poli Randaccio, Minghini Cattaneo and Ismaele Voltolini to an enormous reception and in January 1922 she continued her season at Parma with Elena in Mefistofele, Adalgisa and Venus in Tannhдuser. In February she debuted at Piacenza as Laura and on 8 May she sang Brangaene at Florence. In July at Bolognas Giardini Margherita, Arangi sang Adalgisa and in October at Milan's Teatro Carcano, like many mezzos before her, she sang the role of Santuzza. It was a resounding success and it led to questions about her real vocal placement. In December she returned to her standard repertoire when she debuted at Venice's La Fenice as Brangaene. However, the seeds of doubt had been sown, and they would very soon bear fruit. She was among Italy's most admired mezzos but Giannina had proven to herself that her voice had a resonance at the top and a brightness in the middle that could only be considered that of a true soprano. Decisions had to be made and, without hesitation, she accepted an invitation to debut at Messina in the role of La Gioconda. The date was 25 January 1923, and Laura was sung by the very young debutante, Gianna Pederzini. Arangi continued her engagement at Messina with La Forza del Destino and, though others have listed the role as Preziosilla, I am persuaded from the evidence at hand that it was Leonora. The transition was gradual, and Giannina gravitated initially to roles that have been sung by both vocal types. In March she sang in Michetti's La Grazia at Rome's Costanzi and in March she sang Santuzza for the Romans. It was very well received and intensified her determination to continue along the path she had chosen. In May she repeated Cavalleria Rusticana, this time at Messina, and after a summer break she sang in La Grazia at Pesaro under the direction of Vittorio Gui. In September at Naples' Teatro Mercadante she sang the Forza Leonora and Gioconda and in October at Palermo's Massimo she sang Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera for the first time. 1923 ended at Rome where she sang the Gran Vestale in Spontini's La Vestale with Maria Carena and Amadeo Bassi and Elena in Mefistofele with Maria Zamboni, Francesco Merli and Nazzareno De Angelis. In March 1924 she debuted at Cairo as Elizabeth in Tannhдuser and in April, at Milan's Teatro Carcano she sang Santuzza. Her first great risk came in July, when, at Riccione she sang the role of Aida for the first time. The audience was stunned at her magnificent display of tone and phrasing and she was heralded throughout Italy as a soprano of the first rank. Nevertheless, Giannina stayed with middle-placed roles for a while longer, appearing at Bologna in October as La Favorita with Giacomo Lauri-Volpi and Ezio Pinza after which, on 26 December she debuted at La Scala as Elena with Hina Spani, Aureliano Pertile and De Angelis, to enormous ovations. She recalled it as the greatest personal success of her career. La Scala's management was so impressed that she was offered Aida as her second role and on 22 February 1925 she sang the Ethiopian princess there for the first time. The cast included Giuseppina Zinetti, Pertile and Franci and the revival was conducted by Ettore Panizza. This was the great breakthrough, for though Elena had been hysterically received, no one was quite sure what would happen when Arangi attempted the classic soprano role. To say there was disbelief would be to understate the obvious. Her triumph was complete and the Milan critics were literally speechless. They could only write in awe about that which they had read the previous summer, but which most admitted they did not believe. Giannina now felt the confidence to abandon her mezzo repertoire completely and on 29 July she debuted at the Verona Arena as Gioconda with Minghini Cattaneo, Vittorio Lois and Benvenuto Franci to continued frantic audience response. At Bergamo she appeared in La Gioconda, and for the first time in Il Trovatore. In December Giannina sang in the Italian premiere of Ariadne auf Naxos at Turin's Teatro Torino with Vittorio Gui on the podium. It was another personal and artistic success, and at the end of the run she sang in a concert at the Torino that featured music by other contemporary composers. During 1925, though the dates are uncertain Arangi also sang the role of Norma for the first time at Reggio Emilia with Minghini Cattaneo, and at Bologna she sang Santuzza. 1926 began with a debut at Genoa's Carlo Felice in Aida and continued with Gioconda at both Brescia and Como to extraordinary reviews. On 20 March she debuted at Catania's Massimo Bellini as Aida and stayed for nine performances; another overwhelming triumph. Giannina was engaged by the Teatro Colуn for its winter season and on 22 May she debuted as Asteria in Boito's Nerone with Luisa Bertana, Pertile, Franci and Pinza. Muzio had sung in the first performance and the comparisons were equally complimentary of both artists. On 4 June Arangi sang in La Gioconda and on the 11th, she sang Santuzza with Lauri-Volpi. Her final role at Buenos Aires was the Trovatore Leonora after which she traveled to Rio de Janeiro for additional performances of Nerone and Cavalleria Rusticana. Arangi was very well received by both press and public so it is all the more surprising that she never returned to South America. On 4 November she sang the Trovatore Leonora at Bologna with a cast that included Minghini Cattaneo, Pertile and Armando Borgioli and she ended the year at La Scala with Santuzza, partnered by Merli and Franci. La Scala presented her in nine performances of Aida in January of 1927. The cast of the premiere included Ebe Stignani, Merli, Franci and Antonio Righetti, after which she sang in La Gioconda with Stignani, Luisa Bertana, Merli, Franci and Tancredi Pasero. She was now the reigning dramatic soprano at Milan's temple and would remain so until Toscanini left in 1929. Giannina debuted at Lisbon's Sao Carlo in April as Aida, and she continued her season there with Il Trovatore and La Gioconda. It was during the third performance of the Ponchielli work that the singer engaged for the role of La Cieca found herself indisposed. There were no replacements on the roster, and Giannina, daring to make the suggestion, performed the solo sections of the role while the hapless contralto mouthed the words. At the conclusion of "a te questa rosario" there was an ovation of several minutes' duration, and Giannina was forced to step out of character to acknowledge what was labeled in the press the following day "an unsurpassable triumph". One journalist termed it "a tour de force never before seen at the Sao Carlo". In May Giannina sang in Il Trovatore at Florence with Minghini Cattaneo, Merli and Gaetano Viviani. At the Verona Arena she sang in Aida ten times with Minghini Cattaneo, Antonio Cortis and Viviani, after which she sang Gioconda at Fermo and Norma at Treviso. In December she returned to La Scala for Santuzza and on the 26th, she sang Gioconda at Genoa's Carlo Felice. Giannina had been engaged for a long season in Australia in 1928, and as a prelude she signed a contract to appear at Cairo and Alexandria before departing for the Antipodes. On 12 January Arangi sang Gioconda at Cairo's Teatro Reale with Maria Capuana, Angelo Minghetti and Carlo Morelli. The following week she sang in Tosca with Minghetti and Morelli and in February she sang Santuzza with Minghetti. In mid-season she was recalled to La Scala for performances of Il Trovatore with Minghini Cattaneo, Merli and Carlo Galeffi. Her season at Alexandria never materialized since it was time to leave for Australia. In the company were Toti Dal Monte, Hina Spani, Xenia Belmas, Zinetti, Merli, Minghetti, Enzo de Muro Lomanto, Apollo Granforte and Luigi Rossi Morelli. The trip took five weeks and during most of that time the company was engaged in rehearsals for the upcoming Australian premiere of Turandot. It was scheduled to open the season at Melbourne. After exhaustive hours of practice it was finally decided that the premiere would have to be postponed, and on 12 May, a celebrity audience saw Aida with Arangi Lombardi, Zinetti, Merli and Australia's own John Brownlee. Brownlee had returned from Europe specifically to sing with the Melba/Williamson Company after a five-year absence and he was hailed as the conqueror, though every one received what can only be labeled spectacular notices. On 9 June, Turandot was presented with Arangi, Merli, Luisa Bonetti and Corrado Zambelli. The production, the costumes and the performers all received the most lavish of praise, but the opera was described in very equivocal terms. Most thought it to be minor Puccini, in fact. However, audience response was wild, and three scheduled performances became seven, a scene repeated at Sydney. By the time the company reached Sydney, many cast changes were announced, which led some of the press to label it, with unguarded anger, an Italian conspiracy. Brownlee was gone, to be replaced by Granforte in Pagliacci and Aida, Arangi replaced Belmas in Cavalleria, which had been the Russian's only role to date, and other Australians who had been promised leading, if not starring roles, were not to be found on stage. When Arangi Lombardi sang her first Santuzza the press did comment, grudgingly, that she was not the lesser of the two singers, though they still maintained that there was no reason to have "engineered" the replacements. Brownlee ended up giving a recital tour throughout the country during the rest of the season, and Belmas gave a few of her own before returning to Europe, extremely disappointed. When Toti Dal Monte and Enzo de Muro Lomanto were married at Sydney's St. Mary's Cathedral, Giannina, who was one of the official witness, sang Schubert's "Ave Maria" with "profound sentiment and exquisite tone". At the ceremony's conclusion her "magnificent voice intoned Mercadante's Ave Maria as the congregation left the sanctuary". Arangi, Merli, Zinetti and Granforte appeared in a stellar revival of Il Trovatore and at Adelaide Giannina repeated the same four roles, after which she returned to Italy. Hina Spani replaced her as Turandot in Perth, while Aida and Trovatore were dropped from the repertoire. It is unclear who sang Santuzza. The season was a formidable success. The company had presented some one hundred and seventy performances in houses that displayed a "sold out" sign over ninety percent of the time. Several of the stars including "Italy's handsomest tenor", Minghetti, and his wife, Lulu Hayes, stayed on for a concert tour which took them back to Melbourne and Sydney, and so ended the grandest of the Grand Tours to Australia. The first order of business upon Giannina's return to Italy was to record the first of her four complete operas, Aida, in a cast that included Capuana, Aroldo Lindi, Armando Borgioli and Pasero. It was to become a best seller in Italy and has remained available for nearly its entire history. On Christmas night, she sang in Gioconda at Parma with Minghini Cattaneo, Luigi Marini and Borgioli. On 25 January 1929 Giannina sang in Il Trovatore at Bari's Teatro Petruzzelli with Vera de Kristoff, who had been Zinetti's seldom used backup in Australia, and Luigi Marletta, and in February, she sang Norma at the Petruzzelli, again with de Kristoff. At La Scala she repeated Santuzza and Aida before undertaking a trip to Vienna and Berlin with Toscanini and the La Scala ensemble. These were to be Toscanini's last performances with the company, before emigrating to the United States, where he would reside for the rest of his life. Arangi appeared in Il Trovatore and Aida in both cities, and at the end of the journey she took a long, much-needed rest. In the autumn, she sang in Il Trovatore at Novarra and in Aida at Vicenza before returning to La Scala. Giannina decided that without Toscanini there was no reason to remain in a theater that had already shown hostility to the Maestros memory. She sang the Gran Vestale to Bianca Scacciati's Giulia and Donna Anna in a cast that included Gina Cigna, Mafalda Favero, Tito Schipa and Mariano Stabile, and then allowed the doors of that august theater to close behind her, never to return. On 18 January 1930 she returned to Genoa for Aida and two weeks later she debuted at Naples' Teatro San Carlo in the same role with Stignani, Merli and Enrico Molinari. It was an enormous success and she followed it with Il Trovatore featuring the same cast. At Rome's Reale, she sang in Un Ballo in Maschera, Mule's Dafni, Guglielmo Tell with Lauri-Volpi and Franci and in Il Trovatore with Elvira Casazza, Lauri-Volpi and Franci. At Florence she appeared as Gioconda and at Bergamo's Campo Brumara she sang Norma. Giannina debuted at the Zurich Staadtheater in the Manzoni Requiem, partnered by Mingini-Cattaneo, Roberto D'Alessio and Antonio Righetti, after which she returned to Italy for Tosca at San Felice sul Panaro, Trovatore at Cento and Aida at Ferrara. During the autumn, she also recorded Cavalleria Rusticana with Antonio Melandri. It is a very clear lesson in the differences between her bel canto approach to verismo and the verismo approach of others to Verdi. Audiences in Rome were delighted that she had broken her ties to Milan and in the winter of 1931 she appeared at the Reale in Damnation of Faust, Un Ballo in Maschera, Marinuzzi's Paolo e Francesca, Aida and in a stellar revival of Nozze di Figaro with Adelaide Saraceni, Pederzini, Stabile and Giulio Cirino. At Genoa she repeated the Ballo Amelia with Pertile and at Rome she sang in a recital at the Accademia di Santa Cecelia before returning to the Reale for Mascagni's Le Maschere. In July, she undertook a two month tour of Italy in Aida. The cities visited were Le Roncole, Trieste, Bologna, Udine, Venice, Adria, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Montecatini and finally Rome, where on 5 September at the Villa Umberto she closed the Carro di Tespi season. On 31 October Giannina sang in a concert at Milan's Teatro del Popolo with Pertile, and after Aida at Vercelli, she sang in Andrea Chenier for the only time in her career, with Franco Battaglia and Granforte, at Casalmaggiore. She closed her year at Brescias Teatro Grande in Aida. During 1931, Giannina completed her quartet of complete opera recordings, first with her defining portrayal of Gioconda, and finally as Elena in the classic exposition of Mefistofele, with Mafalda Favero, Antonio Melandri and the overwhelming Nazzareno De Angelis. On 4 February 1932, Giannina sang Tosca at the San Carlo and later in the month she debuted at Nice as Gioconda with later performances of Un Ballo in Maschera. On the 22nd, she sang in a concert for the Turin Radio Network and among her selections was "O grandi occhi" from Fedora. She returned to the San Carlo in March for Aida and Cilea's Gloria and in July Giannina sang in Un Ballo in Maschera at Verona with Margherita Carosio, Pertile and Franci. During the late summer she again toured with Carro di Tespi to several Italian cities as Santuzza, and as in the previous year, concluded the season at Rome. On 1 October she performed Mule's La Baronessa di Carini for Rome Radio and later in the month sang Gioconda at both Ferrara and Perugia. On 26 December she opened the season at Turin's Regio in Un Ballo in Maschera with Pertile and Galeffi. 1933 began with Gioconda at Palermo, after which Giannina sang Selika in L'Afticaine and Elizabeth in Tannhдuser at the Carlo Felice. In March she finally sang a staged performance of La Baronessa di Carini when she appeared at the San Carlo. After additional performances of Gioconda at Naples she prepared for Lucrezia Borgia at Florence. That and Vestale were to be the two great revivals of the Maggio Musicale and both were resounding successes, the first with Gigli, Pederzini and Pasero and the latter with Rosa Ponselle in her only performances in Italy. Lucrezia Borgia was later presented at Rome's Reale, intact. The rest of the year was taken with Gioconda at Rome, Dafni for Rome Radio, concerts at Milan and Paris, and in a grand tour to Berlin for Il Trovatore and Aida. Both operas featured Stignani, Battaglia and Giacomo Rimini. At Rome Giannina sang Mozart's Countess in January 1934 and at Piacenza she sang in Aida followed by Il Trovatore at Genoa. April found her in Palermo for Un Ballo in Maschera and a concert with Pertile and at Rome's Teatro Augusteo she appeared in Resurezzione di Cristo with Fanny Anitua. Rome, Venice and Lecce all saw her as Aida and in July she appeared at Ponchielli's birthplace, Cremona for a much heralded revival of his Figliuol Prodigo with Elena Nicolai, Merli, Mario Basiola and Pasero. It was the first performance in a generation and made musical headlines throughout Italy. The Carro di Tespi season included Norma at Rome, Aquila and Civitavecchia with Minghini Cattaneo, Renato Zanelli and Pinza, followed by a tour of Rossini's Guglielmo Tell to Pesaro, Ancona, Macerata, Fabriano, Ascoli Piceno and Jesi. The Pesaro engagement included a concert with Mercedes Capsir and Merli. In October she sang in concerts at Turin and Paderno Cremonese, and so her year ended. Something had happened during 1934; Giannina was beginning to receive compromised reviews and there were complaints, particularly about her top register, which was showing signs of strain. Those lofty seasons at Italy's top ten theaters were by now pretty much behind her, and though she would occasionally have a prestigious engagement, most would be little more than paychecks until her retirement in 1937. In 1935 Arangi opened the season at Catania with a gala performance of Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda in commemoration of the centenary of the composer's death, and later in the winter she sang the Ballo Amelia at Brescia as well as Gioconda at Trieste's Teatro Verdi and at Piacenza. On 24 April, she sang in Mose at Florence with Sara Scuderi, Stignani and Pasero after which she traveled to Oslo for Aida and to Hamburg for a concert. On 1 August she sang at the Salzburg Festival in Don Giovanni under Bruno Walter. Her Donna Anna was generally considered unsuccessful and she failed to complete the run. After Aida at Messina she traveled to Barcelona, where, at the Liceo she debuted in La Forza del Destino with Battaglia and Granforte. Again the voice was described as imposing but without the luster that had been so admired in so many other theaters. Giannina left Barcelona without having sung contracted performances of Aida. In December she sang in Ballo at Modena and in Gioconda at Naples. The whispers were now turning into mutterings. She really was not a soprano said they; she should have stayed with the mezzo repertoire. There was certainly little generosity in either her reviews or her receptions. In January 1936 she sang in the second cast of Aida at Trieste and in Nozze di Figaro at Genoa. February saw her at Parma and Genoa for Aida and in March she returned to the Carlo Felice for Un Ballo in Maschera. At Pisa she appeared as Gioconda and for Rome Radio she sang in Mose with Lina Pagliughi, Tafuro, Tagliabue and Pasero. At Pavia she presented Aida and in the Carro di Tespi tour she sang La Gioconda at Spezia and Milan. In August she traveled to Noto, Sicily for Ballo and a concert, and at Milan's Piazza Beglioioso she gave a concert in September. The autumn was occupied with Gioconda at Adria and Alessandria as well as the Manzoni Requiem and a recital program at Turin. In the winter of 1937 she returned to Trieste and Naples for Ballo and was tepidly received by both press and public. Giannina discussed her declining vocal resources with her husband and friends, and after much soul searching decided to leave the stage rather than become the subject of ridicule. She amazed all of Italy by appearing at Palermo's Massimo on 31 March in the fiendishly difficult role of Elena in I Vespri Siciliani. It was not a scandal; in fact, she reveled in enormous ovations by capacity audiences for all four performances. Thus ended her career in opera. In September she sang in Rossini's Petite Messa Sollenele at Milan, and in January 1939, Giannina stepped out of retirement to sing the Rossini work for Turin's radio station. Renzo died in 1939 and Giannina moved with her daughter, Vittoria, to Milan, where she employed herself very successfully as a vocal coach. In 1947, the Turkish government recruited throughout Italy for a director of its Music Conservatory at Ankara, and Giannina was among the singers considered. It was an extremely lucrative contract, one which would give her a greater income than she had received while she was singing and since Vittoria was now married, Giannina decided to accept the challenge, replacing Apollo Granforte, who had been engaged at Prague. Among their great success stories is Leyla Gencer. Giannina stayed at Ankara until 1951, when, for reasons of health, she returned to Italy. She was diagnosed with a very serious aneurism in May and the most prominent physicians in Italy were consulted, but there was nothing that could be done. Giannina Arangi Lombardi died on 9 July with her daughter at her side. She is buried in Milan's Cemitero di Carata Brianza.
Aida: Gia i sacerdoti...Misero appien with Carmelo Alabiso Artiphon 8166, 8167
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