Giulietta Simionato
Giulietta Simionato, née, Giulia Simionato was an Italian mezzo-soprano. Her career spanned the period from the 1930s until her retirement in 1966. She famously slapped Maria Callas across the face once, although eventually the two became friends.
Life
As a girl she studied in a boarding school with nuns who sensed her musical qualities and invited her to study singing, which she did against the opposition of the family, especially her mother. After the latter's death, Giulietta studied first in Rovigo, then in Padua. Her singing debut was in the 1927 musical comedy film, 'Nina, Don't Be Stupid'. The following year she made her operatic debut at Montagnana. In 1933 she won the first "bel canto competition" in Florence against 385 competitors and got an audition at the Teatro alla Scala. The result was positive, but the artistic director Fabbroni found her voice still immature and invited her to return a few years later. Two years later she was put under contract. In 1928, she sang in Verdi's Rigoletto. The first fifteen years of her career were frustrating, it seems because she was not supported by the fascist regime. She was only given minor roles and her career struggled to take off, but by the late 1940s she had attracted growing attention. In 1936, she made her debut at La Scala and appeared there regularly between 1936 and 1966. By then, Simionato was recognised as one of the most respected singers of her generation. She had made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1953, where she likewise appeared regularly between 1963 and 1965.Simionato made her United States opera debut in 1953 as Charlotte in Jules Massenet's Werther at the San Francisco Opera with Cesare Valletti in the title role. In 1959 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, as Azucena in Il Trovatore, with Carlo Bergonzi, Antonietta Stella, and Leonard Warren. Simionato also appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, the San Francisco Opera, the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Vienna State Opera, and the Salzburg Festival.
In 1957, she sang in Anna Bolena with Maria Callas. In 1961, she withdrew from three performances at the Metropolitan Opera, with Trigeminal Neuralgia.
Simionato had a large repertory including Rossini's Rosina and Cinderella, Charlotte in Werther, and Carmen. She also excelled in the Verdian repertoire, as Amneris, Eboli and Azucena, and as Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana.
She was a major recording artist, and in addition many of her performances gained live radio broadcast or were captured on film. Fono has gathered her recordings on the CD, The Color of a Voice. She retired in 1966, and married Dr. Cesare Frugoni.
She continued to inspire admiration through teaching and various directorial positions, with amazing vitality even in her 90s. She was featured in Daniel Schmid's award-winning 1984 documentary film Il Bacio di Tosca about a home for retired opera singers founded by Giuseppe Verdi. She also appeared in a hilarious interview by Stefan Zucker in Jan Schmidt-Garre's 1999 film, Opera Fanatic.
She died in Rome one week before her 100th birthday.
The slap to Maria Callas
Simionato famously slapped Maria Callas on the face in 1955 in Milan, during an opera rehearsal, after a petty argument. Simionato said that "my slap was very hard; for the rest of the day you could see the imprint of my hand in Maria's face". Callas was shocked by the slap, but eventually the two got along, and even became friends.Selected recordings
Selected recordings:| Year | Composer – Opera | Cast, Orchestra, Chorus and Conductor | Label |
| 1940 | Pietro Mascagni – Cavalleria Rusticana | Lina Bruna Rasa, Beniamino Gigli, Gino Bechi Chorus and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala Pietro Mascagni | CD: Pearl GEMM CDS 9288, Naxos Historical 8.110714-15 |
| 1954 | Georges Bizet – Carmen | Nicolai Gedda, Hilde Güden, Michel Roux Wiener Symphoniker, Wiener Singerverein Herbert von Karajan Recording of a concert performance | CD: Andante AN 3100 |
| 1954 | Giuseppe Verdi – Rigoletto | Aldo Protti, Hilde Güden, Cesare Siepi Chorus and Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Alberto Erede | CD: Decca 440 242-2 |
| 1955 | Giuseppe Verdi – La Forza del Destino | Mario del Monaco, Renata Tebaldi, Ettore Bastianini, Cesare Siepi, Fernando Corena Chorus and Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Alberto Erede | CD: Decca Originals 475 8681 |
| 1956 | Giuseppe Verdi – Il Trovatore | Mario del Monaco, Renata Tebaldi, Ugo Savarese Grand Théâtre de Genève, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Alberto Erede | CD: Decca 470 589-2 |
| 1957 | Giuseppe Verdi – La Forza del Destino | Pier Miranda Ferraro, Anita Cerquetti, Aldo Protti, Boris Christoff, Renato Capecchi Chorus and Orchestra of RAI Roma Nino Sanzogno Recording of a performance broadcast on 29 September 1957 | CD: Bongiovanni GAO 174–176, Myto 3MCD 992 203 |
| 1959 | Giuseppe Verdi – Aida | Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Cornell MacNeil Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Singerverein Herbert von Karajan | CD: Decca Legends 460 978-2 |
| 1960 | Giuseppe Verdi – La Forza del Destino | Giuseppe di Stefano, Antonietta Stella, Ettore Bastianini, Walter Kreppel, Karl Dönch Chorus and Orchestra of Wiener Philharmoniker Dimitri Mitropoulos Recording of a performance at the Vienna State Opera. The overture is played between Acts 1 and 2. | CD: Myto 2MCD 004 228, Orfeo C 681 0621 |
| 1960 | Pietro Mascagni – Cavalleria Rusticana | Mario del Monaco, Cornell MacNeil Chorus and Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Tullio Serafin | CD: Decca 467 484-2 |
| 1962 | Giuseppe Verdi – Il Trovatore | Franco Corelli, Leontyne Price, Ettore Bastianini Chorus of the Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Philharmoniker Herbert von Karajan Recording of a performance at Salzburg | CD: DG 447 659-2 |
| 1964 | Giuseppe Verdi – Il Trovatore | Franco Corelli, Gabriella Tucci, Robert Merrill Chorus and Orchestra of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma Thomas Schippers | CD: HMV Classics HMVD 5 73413-2 |