Anna Fitziu

Anna Fitziu (April 1, 1887 – April 20, 1967) was an American soprano who had a prolific international opera career during the early part of the 20th century.

Opera career In 1906 Fitziu went to Paris where she studied singing with William Thorn for several years. She adopted the stage name "Anna Fitziu" when she made her first opera appearance in 1910 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan as Elsa in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin. In 1916 she was committed to the New Orleans Opera.

From 1917 to 1919, Fitziu was a principal soprano of the Chicago Opera Association. With the company she notably portrayed the title role in the world premiere of Henry Kimball Hadley's Azora, the Daughter of Montezuma on December 26, 1917, and portrayed the title role in the United States premiere of Alfredo Catalani's Loreley in 1919. She later sang with the Chicago Civic Opera from 1922 to 1926. In 1921 and 1926 she toured the United States with the San Carlo Opera Company. She also appeared in operas at the Ravinia Festival in the early 1920s and appeared at the Havana Opera in 1924 as Desdemona in Otello with Giovanni Martinelli in the title role. She continued to teach singing for the rest of her life, first in Chicago and then in Los Angeles. Among her notable pupils was Shirley Verrett.

She died on April 20, 1967, in Hollywood, California, at the age of 80, after falling down a staircase.

Personal life She was engaged to Andrés de Segurola in 1920, but they never married. She then married Dr. John J. Harty, who pre-deceased her.