Soprano, born in Milan, N Italy. She studied piano at the Milan Conservatory, but as a singer was self-taught. She first appeared in opera in 1909, toured Europe, and in 1916 joined the Chicago Opera Company. From 1919 onwards, she worked principally at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, becoming a US citizen in 1921. She was forced to retire early, following a throat injury.
Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an operatic coloratura soprano, one of the best regarded of the early 20th century.
She was born as Amelita Galli into an upper-middle-class family in Milan, where she studied piano in her youth. Operatic composer Pietro Mascagni also encouraged Galli-Curci's singing career. By her own choice, Galli-Curci's singing was largely self-trained, from listening to other sopranos, reading old singing method books, and practicing piano exercises with her voice.
Galli-Curci's debut was in the role of Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto in 1906.
She toured widely in Europe and South America.In 1915 Galli-Curci sang two performances of "Lucia Di Lammermoor" with Enrico Caruso in Buenos Aires. A 1916 visit to the United States was intended to be brief, but the acclaim she received for her performances as Gilda in "Rigoletto" in Chicago, Illinois was so wildly enthusiastic that she accepted an offer from the Chicago Opera Company. Also in 1916, Galli-Curci signed a recording contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company and recorded extensively for the company until 1930. In 1921 Galli-Curci joined the Metropolitan Opera in New York remaining with this organization until her retirement from opera in 1930.
Galli-Curci was a student of the Indian yoga master Paramhansa Yogananda.
Convinced that opera was a dying art form, Galli-Curci retired from the operatic stage in January 1930 to concentrate instead on concert performances.
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