Virginia Ferni Germano (16 December 1849 – 4 February 1934) was an Italian lyric soprano opera singer.
Early life
Ferni was born in Turin to actress Francesca and cellist Antonio Ferni. Her siblings Angelo and Teresa were musicians, too. She studied violin and voice as a girl.Elizabeth Forbes, "Virginia Ferni-Germano" Grove Music Online (2002).Karl-Josef Kutsch, Leo Riemens, eds., Großes Sängerlexikon (Walter De Gruyter 2012): 1436.
Career
Ferni debuted on the opera stage in 1876, in Charles Gounod's Faust, at Madrid's Teatro Reale.Virginia Ferni Germano chronology, La voce antica. She was the first to play Bizet's Carmen in Italian, at Milan's La Scala in 1885.Victoria Etnier Villamil, "O ma Carmen": Bizet's Fateful Gypsy in Portrayals from 1875 to the Present (McFarland 2017): 175. She created the title role of Alfredo Catalani's Edmea when it premiered in 1896, and of Catalani's Loreley, when it was first performed in 1890.Program, Loreley Teatro Regio (Torino 1890): 4; in the U.S. RISM Libretto Project, Albert Schatz collection, Library of Congress.
Arturo Toscanini made his professional conducting debut in Italy for an 1886 performance of Edmea starring Ferni.Harvey Sachs, Toscanini: Musician of Conscience (Liveright Publishing 2017). Her 1886 appearance as Mignon in Milan prompted a London newspaper correspondent to comment that "her appearance is, to say the least, hardly suited for portraying a very youthful gipsy girl" and concede that "her matured artistic abilities and fine voice sustain the part in a manner highly acceptable to her auditors"."Amusements in Italy" The Era (May 15, 1886): 13. via Newspapers.com
After retiring from the stage, Ferni taught voice in Turin. Among her students were Alba Anzelotti, Bianca Lenzi and Marisa Morel.Virginia Ferni-Germano, ESDF Opera.
Personal life Ferni married Carlo Germano, a violinist. Their son Carlo (1880–1916) was also a violinist. She died in 1934 in Turin, aged 84."Virginia Ferni Germano, Once Noted Soprano, Dies" Chicago Tribune (February 6, 1934): 16. via Newspapers.com
Legacy Ferni Germano's autographed photos of other performers are archived in the Fondazione Giorgio Cini art collections.Virginia Ferni Germano, Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
References
External links
A painted portrait of Virginia Ferni Germano, by Rietti, in the Museo Teatrale (Scala) in Milan; at Getty Images.