1. Mirella Freni received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festival, where she appeared as Mozart's Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, and as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.
23 Facts About Mirella Freni
1. 2.
Mirella Freni performed the role in a film of the production and as her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1965.
3.
Mirella Freni was married to the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, with whom she performed and recorded.
4.
Mirella Freni studied voice first with her uncle, Dante Arcelli, then with Luigi Bertazzoni and Ettore Campogalliani.
5.
Mirella Freni later changed the spelling of her name thinking it would make it easier to pronounce.
6.
Mirella Freni made her operatic debut at the Teatro Municipale in her hometown on 3March 1955 as Micaela in Bizet's Carmen.
7.
Mirella Freni later married her teacher, the pianist and director Leone Magiera, and had a daughter with him.
8.
In 1961, Mirella Freni first performed at the Royal Opera House in London as Nannetta in Verdi's Falstaff.
9.
Mirella Freni stepped in as Nannetta at La Scala in Milan for Renata Scotto in 1962.
10.
Mirella Freni became one of the conductor's favourite singers in operas and concerts.
11.
Mirella Freni later appeared there as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Liu in Puccini's Turandot, Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, and Juliette in Romeo et Juliette.
12.
Mirella Freni appeared as Maria in Donizetti's La figlia del reggimento first at La Scala in 1968, the first time she performed together with Pavarotti.
13.
Mirella Freni appeared as Puccini's Tosca only on a recording.
14.
Mirella Freni performed as Manon Lescaut in the Metropolitan Opera's 1990 season and recorded Madama Butterfly and the three roles of Il trittico.
15.
Mirella Freni never sang Cio-Cio-San on stage, but recorded it twice, not including the 1975 film Madama Butterfly, alongside Placido Domingo, with Karajan conducting and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle directing.
16.
Mirella Freni played Susanna in the Ponnelle film of Le nozze di Figaro, which featured Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kiri Te Kanawa and Hermann Prey.
17.
Mirella Freni extended her repertoire and style during the 1990s with Italian verismo, taking on the title roles of Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur in Milan, Paris, Barcelona and New York, and Umberto Giordano's Fedora in London, Milan, New York, Torino, Barcelona and Zurich.
18.
Mirella Freni ended her professional career on stage, performing teenager Ioanna at the age of 70 at the Washington National Opera on 11April 2005.
19.
Mirella Freni died on 9February 2020 at her home in Modena.
20.
Mirella Freni left her sister, Marta Fregni, her daughter and two grandchildren.
21.
Mirella Freni first won international acclaim in 1963, singing the role of Mimi in the Franco Zeffirelli production of Puccini's "La Boheme" at La Scala in Milan.
22.
Mirella Freni enjoyed teaching at the University of Bologna and established a separate center for the study of singing in the town of Vignola.
23.
Mirella Freni was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in the grade of Knight Grand Cross in 1990 and the French Legion of Honour in March 1993.