Fiorenza Cossotto

Fiorenza Cossotto (born 22 April 1935) is an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano.

Life and career Born on 22 April 1935, in Crescentino, Province of Vercelli, Italy, Cossotto attended the Turin Academy of Music and studied with Mercedes Llopart. She made her operatic debut as Sister Matilde in the world premiere of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites in 1957 at La Scala in Milan. Her international debut was at the 1958 Wexford Festival as Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. Her Covent Garden debut was in 1959 as Neris in Cherubini's Médée, with Maria Callas in the title role. A 1962 performance of the lead in La favorita at La Scala led to wider fame and she made her American debut in the same role in 1964 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and as Amneris at the Metropolitan Opera in 1968.

Between the seasons of 1967–68 and 1988–89, Cossotto gave 148 performances at the Met (exclusively leading roles). She was considered an expert in portrayals of major mezzo/contralto roles in mid-19th-century Italian opera such as Leonora (La favorita), Amneris (Aida), Azucena (Il trovatore), Eboli (Don Carlos), Preziosilla (La forza del destino), Maddalena (Maddalena), Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera) and Laura (La Gioconda). She also portrayed Carmen, Mozart's Cherubino, Urbain in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, Bellini's Romeo and Marfa in Khovanshchina.

In 2005, Cossotto celebrated her 70th birthday with a performance of Suor Angelica at the Théâtre Royal in Liège, Belgium.

Cossotto was married to the Italian bass Ivo Vinco for over 40 years (ending in divorce). They had a son.

According to the book Opera, "She [Cossotto] and Giulietta Simionato were the leading Italian mezzo-sopranos of the 1960s and 1970s. She [Cossotto] won plaudits in the annals of operatic history for her wonderful vocal timbre, her perfect singing technique, and the ease with which she could master different registers. Besides singing the great mezzo roles, she also took the outstanding alto parts of the Italian operatic repertoire."

Apart from mezzo and alto roles, Cossotto also sang soprano roles traditionally sung by mezzos such as Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Adalgisa (Norma).

She sang Adalgisa to the Normas of Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, Leyla Gencer, and Elinor Ross

Her repertory at the Met included Amneris, Eboli, Adalgisa, Santuzza, Azucena, Dalila, Carmen (only on tour and in outdoor park concerts), Principessa di Bouillon (Adriana Lecouvreur) and Mistress Quickly (which she added in 1985, singing with Giuseppe Taddei as Falstaff).

Studio discography Year Work Role Conductor Cast members Label 1957 La sonnambula,Teresa Antonino Votto Maria Callas Nicola Monti EMI Classics 1957 Andrea Chénier,Bersi Gianandrea Gavazzeni Renata Tebaldi Mario del Monaco Decca 1958 Madama Butterfly,Suzuki Tullio Serafin Renata Tebaldi Carlo Bergonzi Decca Records 1959 La Gioconda,Laura Antonino Votto Maria Callas Piero Cappuccilli EMI Classics 1959 The Marriage of Figaro,Cherubino Carlo Maria Giulini Giuseppe Taddei Elisabeth Schwarzkopf EMI Classics 1959 Requiem (Verdi),Mezzo-Soprano Tullio Serafin Boris Christoff Eugenio Fernandi Testament Records 1961 Don Carlos,Eboli Gabriele Santini Boris Christoff Antonietta Stella Deutsche Grammophon 1963 Il trovatore,Azucena Tullio Serafin Carlo Bergonzi Antonietta Stella Deutsche Grammophon 1964 Rigoletto,Maddalena Rafael Kubelík Renata Scotto Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Deutsche Grammophon 1965 Cavalleria rusticana,Santuzza Herbert von Karajan Carlo Bergonzi Giangiacomo Guelfi Deutsche Grammophon 1967 Medea,Neris Lamberto Gardelli Gwyneth Jones Bruno Prevedi Decca Records 1967 Requiem (Verdi),Mezzo-Soprano Herbert von Karajan Leontyne Price Luciano Pavarotti Deutsche Grammophon (audio and video) 1968 Cavalleria rusticana,Santuzza Herbert von Karajan Gianfranco Cecchele />Giangiacomo Guelfi Deutsche Grammophon (Film) 1968 Norma, Adalgisa Silvio Varviso Elena Suliotis Mario del Monaco Decca Records 1970 Requiem (Verdi),Mezzo-Soprano Sir John Barbirolli Montserrat Caballé Jon Vickers EMI Classics 1970 Il trovatore,Azucena Zubin Mehta Leontyne Price Plácido Domingo RCA Records 1972 Norma,Adalgisa Carlo Felice Cillario Montserrat Caballé Plácido Domingo RCA Records 1973 Suor Angelica,La zia Principessa Bruno Bartoletti Katia Ricciarelli Maria Grazia Allegri RCA Records 1974 Un giorno di regno,Marchesa del Poggio Lamberto Gardelli Jessye Norman José Carreras Philips Records 1974 Aida,Amneris Riccardo Muti Montserrat Caballé Plácido Domingo EMI Classics 1974 La favorite,Leonora Richard Bonynge Luciano Pavarotti Gabriel Bacquier Decca Records 1975 Un ballo in maschera,Ulrica Riccardo Muti Martina Arroyo Plácido Domingo EMI Classics 1976 Macbeth,Lady Macbeth Riccardo Muti Sherrill Milnes José Carreras EMI Classics 1976 La forza del destino,Preziosilla James LevineLeontyne PricePlácido Domingo RCA Records 1978 Tancredi,Tancredi Gabriele Ferro Lella CuberliNicola Ghiuselev Warner Fonit 1978 Arie di Verdi,Abigaille (Nabucco) Elvira (Ernani) Medora (Il Corsaro) Eboli (Don Carlo) Amelia (Un ballo in maschera) Nello Santi Ivo Vinco Warner Fonit