Renata Tebaldi, Music: History, Composers, And Performers, Biographies

Related Category: Music: History, Composers, And Performers, Biographies

Renata Tebaldi[rAnA´tA tAbAl´dE] Pronunciation Key, 1922–, Italian lyric soprano. She received early musical training at home and at the Boito Conservatory, Parma. In 1944 she made her professional debut and in 1946 sang at the reopening of La Scala in Milan. She was one of the most acclaimed members of the Metropolitan Opera company from 1955 to 1973, and retired from singing in 1976. Legendary for her superb musicianship and lustrously beautiful voice, Tebaldi sang and recorded in many countries and was particularly acclaimed for her interpretations of the title roles in Tosca, AIda, and Madama Butterfly.

See biographies by V. I. Seroff (1970), K. Harris (1975), and C. Casanova (1995).