Elena Teodorini, Romanian mezzo-soprano, born in Craiova, 25 March 1857: died in Bucharest, 26 February 1926. One of the last
mezzo-soprano of the 19th Century gifted with a truly original
voice, mastered an exceptional wide repertory of unusual variety. Her parents
Maria and Theodor Teodorini were actors.
She studied the piano and theory in Craiova
and Milan with
Fumagalli and singing with George Stefanescu at the Bucharest Conservatory. Also
she studied singing at the Milan Conservatory with Sagiovanni and made her
debut as a contralto singing Gondi in
Maria di Rohan at the Teatro
Municipale in Cuneo
(1877). Gradually her voice changed to a mezzo-soprano of wide range. In the
next two years she sang mezzo roles in Alessandria,
Livorno, Pisa, and Chieti and at the Opera of Bucharest. In 1879
she made her debut at the Teatro dal Verme as Maria in La Fille du Regiment
and in the same season an also sang Rachel
in La Juive (probably given as L’Ebrea). At the age of 20 she made her first appearance in La Scala, Milan, as Marguerite in Faust on March 20 (1880), the first Romanian ever to sing
there. In 1881 she sang the part Valentine in Gil Ugonotti. In 1882 she appeared there in the world première of
Smareglia’s Bianca da Cervia. For ten
years from 1884, when she appeared, with Tamagno, at the old Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, her career
flourished. She had a brilliant career, particularly at the most important
Italian theatres. ‘ The Illustrated London News ‘ create a beautiful picture of
Elena Teodorini’s performance on the Royal Italian Opera company at Covent
Garden: Mlle Teodorini made her first
appearance here on Thursday week as Valentina in ‘ Les Huguenots ‘ an arduous undertaken, considering the many
first – rate artists who have sustained character. (June 12 1886, pp. 616).
Also ‘The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News’, presented impressions
concerning the appearance of Elena Teodorini: Mlle Teodorini’s impersonations of ‘ Valentin’ and ‘La Gioconda’ justified her high position
amongst dramatic ‘ prime donne ‘( July
24, 1886, pp 443 ).. In 1890-91 she sang again at ‘ La Scala ‘, Gastaldon’s Mala Pasqua, based on the same Verga
source as Cavalleria Rusticana. She
toured throughout Europe, Africa, and South America
in more than 40 operas and operettas, in several of
whose premières she had participated. In 1905 she herself as a vocal teacher at
Académie Lyrique in Paris.
Among her pupils were the tenor Edgar Istraty and soprano Zina Brozia. In 1909
Elena Teodorini left Paris in order to reach
South America, where she was going to give concerts in Montevideo,
the capital of Uruguay.
In the autumn 1909 she founded the ‘Theodorini
Academy ’. It is said
that one day, while driving a carriage, she accidentally met Hariclea Darclée
and she asked her to patronize the academy together with Titta Ruffo. Hariclea Darclée accepted gladly her
proposal. The reason for which Elena Teodorini established the Academy in South
America was because in Milan she found some
talented voices, but no money and in Paris
she found enough material support, but no talents. It seems that in Argentina she
found what she was looking for, because she founded ‘Academia lirica Hélène
Théodorini ’. The new school of voice – music was first situated in Freedom’s Street,
at No. 1387 and later in Barmiente
Street, at No. 2339. Of her students one can remember
Jole Lancelotti, Ofelia Villafane, Ada Giribone, Luisa V.de Kühn, Inocencia de
Arce, Dellia Marteneli, Maruja Orbistondo, Emilia Martin, Leticia Rossi, Delia
de la Cuesta, Teresina Vitulli, Clotilda Massey de Ortiz, Carolina de Ortega,
Angelica Molina Grisol, and Alcira Renée Casaglia. Her students appeared
periodically in front of the public at the Concert Hall ”La Argentina” ,
situated in Rodriguez Pena Street, at No. 361.
In Buenos Aires (1909) were printed “Cinco
Ejercicios de Solfeo Cantado para la clasas corales elementales compuestor por
M-me Elena Teodorini”, which stood for her hard work and great interest. Elena
Teodorini became Headmaster of the Governmental Conservatoire from Buenos Aires (1915). In 1917 she spent 3 months in New York where she improved and guided some singers with
good voices – in a letter addressed to the Romanian Academy
she described herself as a “médicin des voix”. She left back for Paris in the summer 1917, because her health was pretty
bad (because of the climate) and the material conditions from Argentina where also getting worse, because of
the First World’s War from Europe. She
returned to Rio de Janiero next year, in 1918, where she founded ‘Escola
superior de canto “ Ars et Vox” ‘, in Avenida Rio Branco, at No. 90. That was
the last and the most successful attempt of Elena Deodorant to lay the
foundation of a modern singing course abroad. She remained in Rio de Janiero
until 1922, when was 65 years old. Of her students from that school it can be
mentioned: America Fontes, Bidú Sayão, Irena Baptista, Itala Cortez, Rachel
Marques da Silva, Leonor de Rezende, Linda Cardenale, Nanita Lutz, Gloria
Sattamini, Alvaro Caminha. On 6th of
April 1922 Bidú Sayão sang Doina Oltului,
a well –known Romanian song, written by Grigore Vasiliu, dressed up in a
typical Romanian national costume. During the autumn of 1922, Elena Teodorini
left Brazil because she missed her country a lot, and suffered because of long
distance between Europe and South America, although she was satisfied with her
work in Rio de Janiero: I am happy in Rio, as I have never been before, a calm
happiness which suits my age, I am so loved by my students…’
Elena Teodorini remained in Paris for a month and then finally reached Bucharest. She founded in
the capital of Romania
‘The Lyrical National Academy’, where she was again appointed Headmaster.
Still, when her health permitted her, she undertook another trip in Brazil, the
last one, where, in June 1923 organized a great festival. At that festival Bidú
Sayão interpreted some Romanian songs, too.
When Teodorini retired from
teaching and decided to go to Bucharest
in 1924, she induced young Bidú Sayão
to go with her, to be presented to Queen Marie. In Romania, Sayão
made her debut, singing at Royal Pales Castle at a reception for the crown
prince of Japan( who later became Emperor Hirohito) The Queen Marie presented
Bidú with her signed portrait and pin decorated with her crown and regimental
emblem.
.
She was also a leading singer
in both the Italian Opera and the National Opera of Bucharest. A singer with an
exceptional range , she undertook various roles in Norma, Gioconda, Gounod’s Faust, Aida, Il trovatore and Un ballo in maschera, being equally
ease in the lyric and dramatic soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto
repertories; her stage presence was imbued with her passionate dramatic
temperament.
The ‘Guide de l’Opéra’ (Fayard, 1995, pp 831-832). pointed out that Elena Teodorini was exceptionally gifted: Une des dernières cantatrices du XIXème siècle
qui dotée d’une voix authentique de mezzo-soprano, ait chanté avec le même
Bonheur les tessitures de falconet soprano, voire soprano
« sfogato ». Particulièrement réputée dans Lucrèce Borgia, Gioconda,
Valentina.
Elena Teodorini passed away on February 27, 1926 in Bucharest On May
16, 1995 ‘Elena Teodorini Foundation ’
fixed a memorial marble plaque in Paris at Rue de Tocqueville No 25, where has been founded the Académie Lyrique ( 1908-1909). Also the Foundation
supported the reconstruction of her memorial monument at ‘Sf.
Vineri’ cemetery, in Bucharest
which has been destroyed during the earthquake in 1977.
‘
Records: In 1903 she made five
titles for G & T in Milan.
All are great rarity.
“Teodorini: 53298 Carmen: Paradoxically,
this Teodorini title is much rare than her recordings of much less popular (one
would have thought) Lucrezia Borgia.
Together with ‘ Parla ‘(53302) and Lucrezia
(53300) it became from Bauer. I found further copies of ‘ Parla ‘ and 53299 Lucrezia in a group of items of similar vintage in a villa in
Pistoia, a small town near Florence. Artistically, the two Lucrezia recordings are almost identical, with 53300 much less
common. The only example that I have seen of La Gioconda aria is on a dark-green Zonophone X-93046 (with the
same matrix number as G&T 53391) from Montecucco collection.”
Bibliography:
1. Viorel Cosma, “Elena
Teodorini”, Editura Muzicala, Bucharest
1962 (in Romanian)
2. R. Celleti, “ Teodorini
Elena” , Le Grandi Voci, Dizionaria Critico Biografico Dei Cantati con
Discografia Operatica, Rome 1964,
3. Roland
Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French édition),
Guide de l’opéra, Les indispensables
de la musique (Fayard, 1995). ISBN
2-213-01563-6
4. Lanfranco Rasponi, Alfred A Knopf , The Last Prima Donnas, Bidú Sayão, pp. 507, 1982. ISBN 0-394-52153-6
5. SIMPOSIUM
Records, The Harold Wayne Collection, volume 4, 1077
6. SIMPOSIUM
Records, The Harold Wayne Collection, volume 23, The “PARIS FONOTIPIAS”, 1182.
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