Mafalda Favero
Giuseppina Favero (6 January 1903 – 3 September 1981), known by the pseudonym Mafalda Favero, was an Italian operatic lyric soprano. Mafalda Favero was born in Portomaggiore, near Ferrara. When she was 17, she started studying with Alessandro Vezzani at the Bologna Conservatory and attracted the attention of Franco Alfano. She began her professional career in her early 20s in Cremona before moving to Parma where she sang several roles. She eventually transferred to La Scala where she debuted singing Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under Arturo Toscanini in 1929. She remained one of the regular singers at La Scala until 1950, in addition to singing in London (Royal Opera House) in 1937 and 1939, and in the United States (Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera) in 1938. She had a large repertoire which included many contemporary works. She sang in the first performances of Alfano's L'ultimo Lord, Mascagni's Pinotta, Zandonai's Farsa amorosa, and Wolf-Ferrari's Il campiello, including his operatic adaptation of de Vega's play La dama Boba. Although initially attracted to the role of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, she later blamed this for her early retirement in 1954; Favero said "the role of Cio-Cio-San was my ruination ... to sing it as I did, giving everything I had and then some, exacted an enormous price... am quite aware that Butterfly cut short my career by at least five years". Giulietta Simionato remarked on her "animal sensuality" and said "[Favero] gave away a great deal of herself – more than was good for her – but the result was extremely moving." She died in Milan in 1981, at age 78. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 5, 1905 (Portomaggiore), Died September 3, 1981 (Milan)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1930
Roles Represented in DAHR: soprano vocal
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia (U.K.) | WB2159 | 10-in. | 10/6/1928 | Signore ascolta | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WB2190 | 10-in. | 10/10/1928 | Morte di Liù | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WB2451 | 10-in. | between January and July 1929 | Stridono lassù | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WB2643 | 10-in. | between January and July 1929 | Sì, mi chiamano Mimì | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WB2651 | 10-in. | between January and July 1929 | Non mi resta che il pianto | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WB2654 | 10-in. | between January and July 1929 | Son pochi fiori | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WB3622 | 10-in. | 7/4/1930 | Sono andati? | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WB3625 | 10-in. | 7/4/1930 | Donde lieta uscì | Mafalda Favero | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Favero, Mafalda," accessed November 16, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/359792.
Favero, Mafalda. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 16, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/359792.
"Favero, Mafalda." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 16 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Mafalda Favero
Discogs: Mafalda Favero
Allmusic: Mafalda Favero
Grove: Mafalda Favero
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Favero, Mafalda - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85199755
Wikidata: Mafalda Favero - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1762760
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/79166631
MusicBrainz: Mafalda Favero - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f4d9cffe-f09a-474c-8d9c-5bd0242b2f6f
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