Mirella Freni

Mirella Freni
OMRI
Freni in 1970
Born
Mirella Fregni

(1935-02-27)27 February 1935
Modena, Kingdom of Italy
Died9 February 2020(2020-02-09) (aged 84)
Modena, Italy
OccupationOperatic soprano
Years active1955–2005
Spouses
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(m. 1955; div. 1978)​
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(m. 1978; died 2004)​
Awards

Mirella Freni, OMRI (Italian: [miˈrɛlːa ˈfreːni], born Mirella Fregni, 27 February 1935 – 9 February 2020)[1] was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. She received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festival, where she appeared as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni and as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

Freni is associated with the role of Mimì in Puccini's La bohème,[2] which featured in her repertoire from 1957 to 1999[3] and which she sang at La Scala in Milan and the Vienna State Opera in 1963, conducted by Herbert von Karajan.[4] She also performed the role in a film of the production and as her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1965.[4] In the earliest opera DVDs, she portrayed her characters convincingly in both acting and singing.[5] Freni was married for many years to the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, with whom she performed and recorded. Her obituary from The New York Times describes her as a "matchless Italian prima donna".[1]

  1. ^ a b Tommasini, Anthony (9 February 2020). "Mirella Freni, Matchless Italian Prima Donna, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2020 – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hopkins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference opera.co.uk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Sinkovicz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Blum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).