Giuseppina Strepponi - Biography

Biography

Strepponi was born in the city of Lodi in the Lombard region of Italy. She was the oldest child of Rosa Cornalba and Feliciano Strepponi (1797–1832), who was the organist at Monza Cathedral and a moderately successful opera composer. Her first lessons in music were with her father who focused mainly on teaching her to play the piano. After her father's death in 1832 of encephalitis, she studied singing and the piano at the Milan Conservatory where she notably won first prize for bel canto during her final year in 1834.

Strepponi made her professional opera début in December 1834 as Adria in Luigi Ricci’s Chiara di Rosembergh at the Teatro Orfeo. She had her first major success during the following spring at the Theatro Grande in Triest singing the title role in Rossini's Matilde di Shabran. This success quickly led to numerous engagements at major opera houses throughout Italy and Giuseppina soon became her family's major bread winner. In the summer of 1835, she went to Austria to sing Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma and Amina in Bellini's La sonnambula at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna where she was praised highly by audiences and critics. Although she was highly talented, she never sang outside Italy after 1835.

Shortly after returning to Italy in 1836, Strepponi began a relationship with tenor Napoleone Moriani, which ultimately led to the birth of two illegitimate children. Moriani and Strepponi frequently shared the stage together during the late 1830s and early 1840s, often appearing opposite each other in operas by Donizetti and Bellini. The relationship, however, did not last and Strepponi ultimately left him for Bartolomeo Merelli, the manager of La Scala, in the early 1840s. Her relationship with Merelli resulted in another illegitimate son and only lasted a few years.

Strepponi became a celebrity among opera singers during the late 1830s, arousing fanatical enthusiasm in performances throughout Italy. In 1836 she sang the roles of Ninetta in Rossini's La gazza ladra, Elvira in Bellini's I puritani, and the title role in Rossini's La Cenerentola at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The following year she reprised the role of Elvira and portrayed the roles of Elena in Donizetti's Marino Faliero and the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In 1838 she sang the title roles in Donizetti's Maria di Rudenz, Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda, and Carlo Coccia's Caterina di Guisa at the Imperial Regio Teatro degli Avvalorati in Livorno. She made her La Scala debut in 1839, replacing Antonietta Marini-Rainieri, who was found unsuitable in the work's premiere performance, as Leonora in the first production of Giuseppe Verdi's first opera Oberto. Strepponi's performance was considered one of the strongest aspects of this production and one of the main reasons that the work was received well. Other notable roles for Strepponi during the late 1830s include Elaisa in Saverio Mercadante's Il giuramento, Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore and Sandrina in Luigi Ricci’s Un’avventura di Scaramuccia.

Strepponi continued to remain a highly popular singer during the early 1840s. She notably sang the title role in Donizetti's Adelia in 1841 at the Teatro Apollo in Rome, a role written specifically for her by the composer. This was followed by a critically acclaimed portrayal as Abigaille in the world premiere of Verdi's Nabucco at La Scala in 1842. She reprised the role of Abigaille in several opera houses throughout Italy the following year, including the Teatro Regio di Parma and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, which considerably aided the work's popularity. Also in 1843, she sang the roles of Elisabetta in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux and Imogene in Bellini's Il pirata in Bologna. Other notable roles for Strepponi during the early 1840s included the title role in Bellini's Norma, the Marchesa del Poggio in Verdi's Un giorno di regno, and the title role in Giovanni Pacini's Saffò.

Around 1844, Strepponi began to experience significant vocal problems, most likely brought on by her relentless performing schedule, which culminated in a disastrous season in Palermo in 1845, where she was booed by audiences. Her voice never recovered and she thereafter appeared only sporadically in operas until her retirement in February 1846. Most of her last performances were in operas by Verdi, including performances of Elvira in Ernani and Lucrezia Contarini in I due Foscari.

In October 1846 Strepponi moved to Paris and became a singing teacher. She came out of her stage retirement briefly for one last opera appearance at the Comédie-Italienne which was not well received. Verdi came to France to join her during the summer of 1847 and the two began a romantic relationship. Verdi was Strepponi's partner for the rest of her life, though they were not legally married until 1859 in Geneva. She spent the remainder of her life supporting her husband in his career. Their marriage was happy and Verdi was deeply saddened by her death in Sant’Agata, near Busseto in 1897.