Fiorenza Cossotto
While best known for the fiery, scenery-chewing Verdi roles such as Azucena, Amneris, Lady Macbeth, and Eboli, Fiorenza Cossotto was also a prominent performer of bel canto parts such as Rosina in Rossini's Barbiere, Leonora in La favorita, and Adalgisa in Norma. Such large and powerful mezzo voices, particularly with a secure top, are rare compared to the lyric mezzo, and from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, she was the Verdi mezzo, the successor to Simionato and the predecessor to Zajick.
After studying at the Turin Conservatory, she graduated in 1956 and then joined the training school of La Scala in Milan. She made her operatic debut as Sister Matilde in the world premiere of Poulenc's The Dialogues of the Carmelites in 1957. 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 Medée, with Callas in the title role. A 1961 performance of the lead in La favorita at La Scala led to wider fame and she made her Chicago debut in the same role in 1964 and as Amneris at the Met in 1968. She is married to bass singer Ivo Vinco. Among her recordings, the Amneris on EMI under Muti (EMI CDS7 47271-8) captures the fire and vigor of her performances.
© TiVo
Discography
11 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Verdi : Il Trovatore
Ettore Bastianini, Antonietta Stella, Fiorenza Cossotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giordano: Andrea Chénier
Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Ettore Bastianini, Fiorenza Cossotto, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Madama Butterfly - Highlights
Renata Tebaldi, Fiorenza Cossotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Tullio Serafin
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Giuseppe Taddei, Fiorenza Cossotto
Opera - Released by Past Classics on 11 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Artistry Of Fiorenza Cossotto
Opera - Released by Everest Records on 18 Sep 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi : Il Trovatore
Ettore Bastianini, Antonietta Stella, Fiorenza Cossotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: La Favorita
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Il trovatore (Highlights. Stereo Version) (Stereo Version)
Fiorenza Cossotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin
Opera Extracts - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen, WD 31 (Excerpts) [Remastered 2022] [Live]
Fiorenza Cossotto, Pedro Lavirgen
Opera - Released by EMEC - HD Remastered on 20 Jan 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Giuseppe Verdi: Don Carlo, selection, 1968 Live Historical Recording, Fiorenza Cossotto, Pedro Lavirgen, Ottavio Ziino, conductor.
Pedro Lavirgen, Fiorenza Cossotto, Ottavio Ziino
Opera - Released by EMEC - HD Remastered on 17 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Transitus animae
Fiorenza Cossotto, Orchestra dell'Angelicum di Milano, Franco Caracciolo
Classical - Released by Musica Viva on 1 Jan 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo