Claudia Muzio, Who Died May 24, 1936, Created Giorgetta in Il Tabarro

Summary: Italian operatic soprano Claudia Muzio, who died May 24, 1936, created Giorgetta in Il Tabarro in the world premiere of Giacomo Puccini’s Il Trittico.

Italian baritone Luigi Montesanto as Michele, Italian soprano Claudia Muzio as Giorgetta and Italian operatic tenor Giulio Crimi as Luigi in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere of Il Tabarro, the first of three one-act operas composing Puccini’s Il Trittico, on Dec. 14, 1918: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 14, 2018

Italian operatic soprano Claudia Muzio, who died May 24, 1936, created Giorgetta in Il Tabarro in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere of Il Trittico, the triple bill by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

The world premiere of Il Trittico’s three one-act operas took place Dec. 14, 1918, at the Metropolitan Opera. Italian maestro Roberto Moranzoni (Oct. 5, 1880-Dec. 14, 1950) conducted the triple bill. Polish film and theatre director Richard Ordynski (Oct. 5, 1878-Aug. 13, 1953) directed all three productions. Three renowned sopranos sang the principal female roles.

The first segment, Il Tabarro, featured Claudia Muzio as Giorgetta and Italian operatic tenor Giulio Crimi (May 10, 1885-Oct. 29, 1939) as Luigi. Italian painter and set designer Pietro Stroppa (Oct. 24, 1878-May 24, 1935) made his Metropolitan Opera debut as designer for Il Tabarro.

American soprano opera singer Geraldine Farrar (Feb. 28, 1882-March 11, 1967) created the title role in the second segment, Suor Angelica. Pietro Stroppa was the opera’s designer.

English dramatic soprano Florence Easton (Oct. 25, 1882-Aug. 13, 1955) originated the role of Lauretta in the triple bill’s third opera, Gianni Schicchi. Italian Art Nouveau designer Galileo Chini (Dec. 2, 1873-Aug. 23, 1956) made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the production’s designer.

Il Trittico received seven performances during the triple bill’s world premiere season at the Metropolitan Opera. The three sopranos reprised their roles for three performances in the next (1919-1920) Met Opera season.

Claudia Muzio was born Thursday, Feb. 7, 1889, at No. 4, Piazza del Duomo, in Pavia, southwestern Lombardy, northwestern Italy, to an operatic family. Her father, Carlo Alberto Muzzio (born May 31, 1848), was an operatic stage director (direttore da scena) whose posts included Covent Garden and New York’s Manhattan and Metropolitan opera houses. Her mother, Giovanna Gavirati (born 1860), was an opera chorister (corista lirica).

Claudia’s parents were not married at the time of her birth. Essayist and music critic Paolo Patrizi notes in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani that her parents married in 1908. Initially, Claudia’s family name was fictitiously given as Versati.

Claudia Muzio made her operatic debut Jan. 15, 1910, in the title role of Manon by French Romantic Era composer Jules Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912). Her debut took place at Teatro Petrarca in Arezzo, Tuscany region, north central Italy.

Claudia’s Metropolitan Opera debut happened Dec. 4, 1916, in the title role in the opera house’s 119th performance of Puccini’s Tosca. The opera received eight performances during Claudia’s debut season.

Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso (Feb. 25, 1873-Aug. 2, 1921) appeared as Cavaradossi and Italian baritone Antonio Scotti (Jan. 25, 1866-Feb. 26, 1936) sang Scarpia. Tosca was conducted by Giorgio Polacco (April 12, 1875-April 30, 1960), Italian-born American-naturalized conductor of the Metropolitan Opera from 1915 to 1917. The production’s director was Jules Speck, Metropolitan Opera stage manager for French and Italian operas from 1908 to 1917.

Including Tosca, Claudia Muzio performed in five operas during her Met Opera debut season. She was cast with Enrico Caruso in three more operas. She sang the title role to Caruso’s Des Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. She appeared as Nedda to Caruso’s Canio in Pagliacci by Italian opera composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo (April 23, 1857-Aug. 9, 1919). She sang the title role to Caruso’s Radamès in Verdi’s Aida.

Verdi’s Il Trovatore was the only opera in which she performed with Enrico Caruso during the 1916-1917 Met Opera season. Italian operatic tenor Giovanni Martinelli (Oct. 22, 1885-Feb. 2, 1969) sang Manrico to Claudia’s Leonora.

Claudia Muzio’s last performance at the Metropolitan Opera took place during the opera house’s 1933-1934 season. She appeared as Violetta in the opera house’s 195th performance of Verdi’s La Traviata.

Claudia Muzio suffered throughout her life from the effects of having contracted rheumatic fever at the age of five. She passed away May 24, 1936, at the age of 47 years three-plus months, in Hotel Excelsior in Rome, central Italy. She was buried in Riquadro 34 (Lot 34), Vecchio Reparto (Old Section), at Rome’s Cimitero Comunale Monumentale Campo del Verano, known popularly as Cimitero del Verano.

The takeaways for Claudia Muzio, who died Sunday, May 24, 1936, are that she created the role of Giorgetta in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere of the Il Tabarro segment of Puccini’s Il Trittico and that she teamed with Enrico Caruso in four of the five operas of her debut season at the Metropolitan Opera.

Italian soprano’s Metropolitan Opera debut happened Dec. 4, 1916, in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca; photo of Claudia Muzio as Tosca by Russian-American photographer Herman Mishkin (1871-Feb. 6, 1948), whose subject specialty was Golden Age opera stars; Claudia Muzio L’Unica, via Facebook Nov. 21, 2011

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Italian baritone Luigi Montesanto as Michele, Italian soprano Claudia Muzio as Giorgetta and Italian operatic tenor Giulio Crimi as Luigi in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere of Il Tabarro, the first of three one-act operas composing Puccini’s Il Trittico, on Dec. 14, 1918: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 14, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10161363147855533/

Italian soprano’s Metropolitan Opera debut happened Dec. 4, 1916, in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca; photo of Claudia Muzio as Tosca by Russian-American photographer Herman Mishkin (1871-Feb. 6, 1948), whose subject specialty was Golden Age opera stars; Claudia Muzio L’Unica, via Facebook Nov. 21, 2011, @ https://www.facebook.com/313045782041850/photos/a.313263275353434/315574798455615/

For further information:

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Available via HathiTrust (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiug.30112004195423?urlappend=%3Bseq=244
Available via HathiTrust (University of Minnesota) @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951002806759m?urlappend=%3Bseq=246

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Available @ https://www.facebook.com/313045782041850/photos/a.313263275353434/315574798455615/

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Available @ https://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/12289/01_front.pdf

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“World Premiere: Il Trittico {1} Il Tabarro {1} Suor Angelica {1} Gianni Schicchi {1}.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 70380 World Premiere Il Trittico {1} Il Tabarro {1} Suor Angelica {1} Gianni Schicchi {1}. Metropolitan Opera House: 12/14/1918.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=70380