Gabriella Tucci

Gabriella Tucci (born 4 August 1929) is an Italian operatic soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Born in Rome, Italy, Tucci trained at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Leonardo Filoni, whom she later married. She made her debut at Spoleto, as Leonora in La forza del destino, opposite Beniamino Gigli, in 1951. She then took part in the famous revival of Cherubini's Medea, as Glauce, opposite Maria Callas, in Florence, in 1953. She made her debut at La Scala in Milan in 1959, as Mimi in La bohème. The following year saw her debuts at both the Royal Opera House in London, as Aida, and at the Metropolitan Opera, as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera until 1972, other roles included: Euridice, Marguerite, Leonora in both Il trovatore and La forza del destino, Maria Boccanegra/Amelia, Violetta, Aida, Desdemona, Alice Ford, Mimi, Donna Elvira, etc. Tucci also appeared in Vienna, Berlin, and Buenos Aires. She traveled with the La Scala Opera to Moscow and Tokyo, performances that have been documented in live recordings. A versatile singer and an accomplished actress, Tucci was able to tackle a wide range of roles from bel canto to verismo, singing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Elvira in I puritani, Gilda in Rigoletto, Violetta in La traviata, and Marguerite in Faust, as well as Maddalena in Andrea Chénier and the title role in Tosca. Tucci made only two commercial recordings, Pagliacci in 1959, opposite Mario del Monaco, and Il trovatore in 1964, opposite Franco Corelli, but can be heard in a number of "live" performances, including Cherubini's Medea and Donizetti's Il Furioso al Isola di Santo Domingo.