Maria Orefice

Maria Josephine Orefice (July 16, 1893 – June 22, 1961), also known by her married name Maria Caselotti, was a celebrated Italian-American coloratura soprano and vocal pedagogue.

Early life and family Maria Josephine Orefice was born on July 16, 1893, in Casavatore, Naples, Italy, to Luigi Francesco Orefice (later Odrich) and Maria C. Pazella. In addition to her work in Rome, she performed with the Havana Opera Company, the San Carlo Opera Company, and the Di Feo Opera Company. Her younger daughter, Adriana Caselotti, famously won the role of Snow White by imitating her mother's operatic technique.

Personal life Maria married Guido Luigi Emanuele Hocke-Caselotti on October 14, 1909, in Bridgeport. By 1934, she was living independently in a Hollywood Heights home on Alta Loma Terrace, valued at $10,000, where she resided with Adriana during the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She is buried in Los Angeles, and her legacy continues through the recordings of her daughters and the students she trained over her three-decade teaching career.