Mirella Freni, OMRI (Italian:[miˈrɛlːaˈfreːni], born Mirella Fregni, 27 February 1935 – 9 February 2020)[1] was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. She received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festival, where she appeared as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni and as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.
Freni is associated with the role of Mimì in Puccini's La bohème,[2] which featured in her repertoire from 1957 to 1999[3] and which she sang at La Scala in Milan and the Vienna State Opera in 1963, conducted by Herbert von Karajan.[4] She also performed the role in a film of the production and as her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1965.[4] In the earliest opera DVDs, she portrayed her characters convincingly in both acting and singing.[5] Freni was married for many years to the Bulgarian bassNicolai Ghiaurov, with whom she performed and recorded. Her obituary from The New York Times describes her as a "matchless Italian prima donna".[1]
Miss Freni is—well, "irresistible" will do for a start. Beautiful to look at, and actress of simple naturalness and overwhelming intelligence, she used voice and gesture to create a Mimì of ravishing femininity and grace. The voice itself is pure and fresh, operating without seam from bottom to top, marvelously colored at every point by what seems to be an instinctive response to the urging of the text.[11]
Freni chose her roles carefully, saying in an interview: "I am generous in many ways, but not when I think it will destroy my voice. Some singers think they are gods who can do everything. But I have always been honest with myself and my possibilities."[1] She refused Karajan's offers of Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore and the title role in Puccini's Turandot.[7] Elvira in Ernani was set aside after a single run at La Scala (and despite offers to sing the role elsewhere).[7] She never sang Cio-Cio-San on stage, but recorded it twice, not including the 1975 film Madama Butterfly,[16] alongside Plácido Domingo, with Karajan conducting and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle directing.[2] She played Susanna in the Ponnelle film Le nozze di Figaro, which also featured Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kiri Te Kanawa and Hermann Prey.[4]
In 1978, after her marriage to Magiera had ended in divorce,[8] she married Nicolai Ghiaurov, one of the leading operatic basses of the post-war period. Together they helped to establish the Centro Universale del Bel Canto in Vignola, where they began giving master classes in 2002. After Ghiaurov's death in 2004, Freni continued their work of preserving the bel canto tradition, teaching young singers from around the world.[5]
Freni extended her repertoire and style during the 1990s with Italian Verismo,[7] taking on the title roles of Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur in Milan, Paris, Barcelona and New York, and Umberto Giordano's Fedora in London, Milan, New York, Torino, Barcelona and Zürich. In 1997, she performed Giordano's Madame Sans-Gêne at the Teatro Massimo Bellini.[17] During this time she sang in Russian operas, such as Tchaikovsky's Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, Lisa in The Queen of Spades, and Ioanna in The Maid of Orleans. Freni ended her professional career on stage, performing teenager Ioanna at the age of 70 at the Washington National Opera on 11 April 2005.[7]
Freni died on 9 February 2020 at her home in Modena. According to her manager, she died "after a long degenerative illness and a series of strokes".[1][7] On 12 February, her coffin was moved from the funeral home to the Teatro Comunale Modena for public tribute and then transferred in a procession to Modena Cathedral, where the funeral took place.[18]
In a broadcast matinée of Fedora at the Metropolitan Opera on April 26, 1997, Freni was presented with the Key to the City of New York by then mayor, Rudolph W. Giuliani.[23]
In 2005, the Metropolitan Opera celebrated the 40th anniversary of her Met debut and her 50th anniversary on stage with a special gala concert conducted by James Levine.[24]
