Fiorenza Cossotto

Biography

Fiorenza Cossotto (born April 22, 1935) is an Italian mezzo-soprano. She is considered by many to be one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century.

Born on April 22, 1935 in Crescentino,[1] Province of Vercelli, Italy, Cossotto attended the Turin Academy of Music and graduated top of her class. After her studies with Mercedes Llopart, she made her operatic debut as Sister Matilde in the world premiere of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites in 1957 at La Scala in Milan. Her international debut was at the 1958 Wexford Festival as Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. Her Covent Garden debut was in 1959 as Neris in Cherubini's Médée, with Maria Callas in the title role. A 1962 performance of the lead in La favorita at La Scala led to wider fame and she made her American debut in the same role in 1964 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and as Amneris at the Metropolitan Opera in 1968.

Altogether between the seasons of 1967–68 and 1988–89 she gave 148 performances at the Met (exclusively leading roles). She was considered an expert in portrayals of major mezzo/contralto roles in mid-19th-century Italian opera; e.g. Favorita, Amneris, Azucena, Eboli, Preziosilla, Maddalena, Ulrica and Laura. She also essayed Carmen, Mozart's Cherubino, Urbain in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, Bellini's Romeo and Marfa in Khovantschina.

She kept on singing, and in 2005 she celebrated her 70th birthday with a performance of Suor Angelica at the Théâtre Royal in Liège, Belgium.

She was married to the Italian bass Ivo Vinco for over 40 years (ending in divorce). Their only child was a son, Roberto.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiorenza_Cossotto (biography)
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiorenza_Cossotto (discography and repertoire)
• http://www.bruceduffie.com/cossotto.html (profile picture)

Reperoitre

• Romeo Montecchi I Capuleti e i Montecchi Bellini
• Teresa La sonnambula Bellini
• Adalgisa Norma Bellini
• Ascanio I Troiani Berlioz
• Carmen Carmen Bizet
• Pantalis Mefistofele Boito
• Neris Medea Cherubini
• Principessa di Bouillon Adriana Lecouvreur Cilea
• Fidalma Il matrimonio segreto Cimarosa
• Leonora Le astuzie femminili Cimarosa
• Giovanna Seymour Anna Bolena Donizetti
• Leonora di Gusman La Favorita Donizetti
• Bersi Andrea Chénier Giordano
• Vania Una vita per lo Zar Glinka
• Orfeo Orfeo ed Euridice Gluck
• Diana Ifigenia in Tauride Gluck
• Atalanta Serse Händel
• Santuzza Cavalleria rusticana Mascagni
• Charlotte Werther Massenet
• Urbano Gli Ugonotti Meyerbeer
• Marinetta La scuola delle mogli Mortari
• Cecilio Lucio Silla Mozart
• Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro Mozart
• Fedör Boris Godunov Musorgskij
• Marfa Chovanščina Musorgskij
• Luggrezia Lo frate 'nnamorato Pergolesi
• Hortigosa Il Cordovano Petrassi
• Laura Adorno La Gioconda Ponchielli
• Suor Matilde I dialoghi delle Carmelitane Poulenc
• Un musico Manon Lescaut Puccini
• Suzuki Madama Butterfly Puccini
• La zia principessa Suor Angelica Puccini
• Ernestina L'occasione fa il ladro Rossini
• Clarice La pietra del paragone Rossini
• Tancredi Tancredi Rossini
• Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia Rossini
• Dalila Samson et Dalila Saint-Saëns
• Statira Olimpia Spontini
• La Madre Mavra Stravinskij
• Marchesa del Poggio Un giorno di regno Verdi
• Lady Macbeth Macbeth Verdi
• Maddalena Rigoletto Verdi
• Azucena Il trovatore Verdi
• Ulrica Un ballo in maschera Verdi
• Preziosilla La forza del destino Verdi
• Principessa d'Eboli Don Carlo Verdi
• Amneris Aida Verdi
• Mrs Quickly Falstaff Verdi
• La Comandante I cavalieri di Ekebù Zandonai

Discography of complete operas

• 1957 La sonnambula, Teresa Antonino Votto Maria Callas Nicola Monti EMI Classics
• 1957 Andrea Chénier, Bersi Gianandrea Gavazzeni Renata Tebaldi Mario del Monaco Decca
• 1958 Madama Butterfly, Suzuki Tullio Serafin Renata Tebaldi Carlo Bergonzi Decca Records
• 1959 La Gioconda, Laura Antonino Votto Maria Callas Piero Cappuccilli EMI Classics
• 1959 The Marriage of Figaro, Cherubino Carlo Maria Giulini Giuseppe Taddei Elisabeth Schwarzkopf EMI Classics
• 1959 Requiem (Verdi), Mezzo-Soprano Tullio Serafin Boris Christoff Eugenio Fernandi Testament Records
• 1961 Don Carlos, Eboli Gabriele Santini Boris Christoff Antonietta Stella Deutsche Grammophon
• 1963 Il trovatore, Azucena Tullio Serafin Carlo Bergonzi Antonietta Stella Deutsche Grammophon
• 1964 Rigoletto, Maddalena Rafael Kubelík Renata Scotto Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Deutsche Grammophon
• 1965 Cavalleria rusticana, Santuzza Herbert von Karajan Carlo Bergonzi Giangiacomo Guelfi Deutsche Grammophon
• 1967 Medea, Neris Lamberto Gardelli Gwyneth Jones Bruno Prevedi Decca Records
• 1967 Requiem (Verdi), Mezzo-Soprano Herbert von Karajan Leontyne Price Luciano Pavarotti DGG (audio and video)
• 1968 Cavalleria rusticana, Santuzza Herbert von Karajan Gianfranco Cecchele Giangiacomo Guelfi Deutsche Grammophon (Film)
• 1970 Requiem (Verdi), Mezzo-Soprano Sir John Barbirolli Montserrat Caballé Jon Vickers EMI Classics
• 1970 Il trovatore, Azucena Zubin Mehta Leontyne Price Plácido Domingo RCA Records
• 1972 Norma, Adalgisa Carlo Felice Cillario Montserrat Caballé Plácido Domingo RCA Records
• 1973 Suor Angelica, La zia Principessa Bruno Bartoletti Katia Ricciarelli Maria Grazia Allegri RCA Records
• 1974 Un giorno di regno, Marchesa del Poggio Lamberto Gardelli Jessye Norman José Carreras Philips Records
• 1974 Aida, Amneris Riccardo Muti Montserrat Caballé Plácido Domingo EMI Classics
• 1974 La favorite, Leonora Richard Bonynge Luciano Pavarotti Gabriel Bacquier Decca Records
• 1975 Un ballo in maschera, Ulrica Riccardo Muti Martina Arroyo Plácido Domingo EMI Classics
• 1976 Macbeth, Lady Macbeth Riccardo Muti Sherrill Milnes José Carreras EMI Classics
• 1976 La forza del destino, Preziosilla James Levine Leontyne Price Plácido Domingo RCA Records
• 1978 Tancredi, Tancredi Gabriele Ferro Lella Cuberli Nicola Ghiuselev Warner Fonit
• 1978 Arie di Verdi, Abigaille (Nabucco) Elvira (Ernani) Medora(Il Corsaro) Eboli (Don Carlo) Amelia (Un ballo in maschera) Nello Santi