Aurelia Kitzu Arimondi

Aurelia Kitzu Arimondi (1860s – July 28, 1941) was a Romanian-born opera singer and voice teacher in New York City and Chicago.

Early life and education Kitzu was born in Craiova, Romania (some sources say Bucharest). Lawyer and politician Gheorghe Chițu was her uncle; her sister was educator Marie Kitzu Arnold. She trained as a singer at the Royal Conservatory Giuseppe Verde.

Career Kitzu, a mezzo-soprano, sang in many European cities, especially at La Scala in Milan, She toured in South America in the 1890s, appearing at the Teatro Solís with José Oxilia. She made her New York debut in 1895, as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera House and taught singing in New York City in the 1900s.

Arimondi and her husband Vittorio Arimondi taught in Chicago in after 1916. The Arimondis also produced a series of musicales featuring their students. In 1925 they joined the faculty of the Chicago Musical College.

Personal life

Kitzu met Italian opera singer Vittorio Arimondi in South America; they married in 1896. They moved to Chicago in 1910. The Arimondis were featured on the cover of The Musical Leader in 1922, billed as "among the most successful teachers and artists of America." Her husband died in 1928, and she died in 1941, probably in her seventies, in Chicago.