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Anna Moffo is a Actor American born on 27 june 1932 at Philadelphia (USA)
Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and award-winning dramatic actress. One of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agility. Because of her physical appearance she was nicknamed "La Bellissima". Winning a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Italy, she became very popular there after performing leading operatic roles on three RAI television productions in 1956. Moffo returned to America for her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on October 16, 1957. In New York, her Metropolitan Opera debut took place on November 14, 1959. She performed at the Met for over seventeen seasons. Although Anna Moffo's original recordings were made for EMI Records, she later signed an exclusive contract with RCA Victor. In the early 1960s, she hosted her own show on Italian television, was acclaimed for her beauty, appeared in several operatic films, and other dramatic non-singing roles. In the early 1970s she extended her international popularity to Germany through operatic performances, TV appearances, and several films...all while continuing her American operatic performances. Due to an extremely heavy workload, Moffo suffered a serious vocal-breakdown in 1974, from which she never fully recovered. In later years, she gave several master classes through the Met. Her death at age 73 was preceded by a decade-long battle with cancer.
Shortly after, still virtually unknown and little experienced, she was offered the challenging role of Cio-Cio-San in an Italian television (RAI) production of Madama Butterfly. The telecast aired on January 24, 1956, and made Moffo an overnight sensation throughout Italy. Offers quickly followed and she appeared in two other television productions that same year, as Nannetta in Falstaff and as Amina in La Sonnambula. She appeared as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and made her recording debut for EMI as Nannetta (Falstaff) under Herbert von Karajan, and as Musetta in La Bohème with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano and Rolando Panerai. The following year (1957) saw her debut at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, at La Scala in Milan and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
Moffo returned to America for her debut there, as Mimì in La Bohème next to Jussi Björling's Rodolfo, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on October 16, 1957. Her Metropolitan Opera of New York debut took place on November 14, 1959 as Violetta in La traviata, a part that would quickly become her signature role. She performed at The Metropolitan Opera for seventeen seasons in roles such as Lucia, Gilda, Adina, Mimi, Liù, Nedda, Pamina, Marguerite, Juliette, Manon, Mélisande, Périchole, the four heroines of Les contes d'Hoffmann, etc.
In the late 1950s, she recorded Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, opposite Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Giuseppe Taddei, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini; and recitals of Mozart arias with EMI. She then became an exclusive RCA Victor artist..with whom she recorded most of her best operatic roles.
Moffo was also invited at the San Francisco Opera where she made her debut as Amina on October 1, 1960. During that period she also made several appearances on American television, while enjoying a successful international career singing at most major opera houses around the world (Stockholm, Berlin, Monte Carlo, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, etc.). She made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London, as Gilda, in a Franco Zeffirelli production of Rigoletto. Shortly after the Italian tenor Sergio Franchi joined the RCA recording family in America, they recorded a popular album of operetta duets, The Dream Duet, which peaked at number ninety seven on the Billboard 200 in 1963. Later that year Franchi and Moffo collaborated in recording The Great Moments From Die Fledermaus with The Vienna State Orchestra and Chorus, Oskar Dannon conducting. In 1999 this album was re-mastered and re-issued in High Performance Stereo.
Moffo remained particularly popular in Italy and performed there regularly. She hosted a program on Italian television "The Anna Moffo Show" (two series: the first in 1964; the second in 1967) and was voted one of the ten most beautiful women in Italy. She appeared in film versions of La traviata (1968) and Lucia di Lammermoor (1971), both produced (with the Italian TV director Sandro Bolchi) and directed by her first husband Mario Lanfranchi, as well as a few non-operatic films. In the early 1970s, she began appearing on German television and in operetta films such as Die Csárdásfürstin and Die schöne Galathee. She also recorded with Eurodisc the title roles in Carmen and Iphigenie in Aulis, as well as the role of Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel.
Such a heavy workload, however, led to physical exhaustion and a serious vocal-breakdown in 1974, from which she never fully recovered. Although she was able to resume her career in 1976, she appeared only sporadically. Her last appearance at the Met was during the 1983 Centennial celebrations, where she sang the Sigmund Romberg duet "Will You Remember?" with Robert Merrill. After retiring from singing Moffo remained active in the opera community as a Board Member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild and by hosting several tributes and giving occasional masterclasses.
Moffo was married twice, first to stage and film director Mario Lanfranchi, on December 8, 1957. The couple divorced in 1972. Her second marriage was to RCA executive Robert Sarnoff, on November 14, 1974. Sarnoff died on February 22, 1997.
Anna Moffo spent the last years of her life in New York City, where she died of a stroke at age 73, following a decade-long battle with breast cancer. She is interred with Sarnoff at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York.
Source : Wikidata
Anna Moffo
Nationality USA
Birth 27 june 1932 at Philadelphia (USA)
Death 9 march 2006 (at 73 years) at New York City (USA)
Birth 27 june 1932 at Philadelphia (USA)
Death 9 march 2006 (at 73 years) at New York City (USA)
Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and award-winning dramatic actress. One of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agility. Because of her physical appearance she was nicknamed "La Bellissima". Winning a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Italy, she became very popular there after performing leading operatic roles on three RAI television productions in 1956. Moffo returned to America for her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on October 16, 1957. In New York, her Metropolitan Opera debut took place on November 14, 1959. She performed at the Met for over seventeen seasons. Although Anna Moffo's original recordings were made for EMI Records, she later signed an exclusive contract with RCA Victor. In the early 1960s, she hosted her own show on Italian television, was acclaimed for her beauty, appeared in several operatic films, and other dramatic non-singing roles. In the early 1970s she extended her international popularity to Germany through operatic performances, TV appearances, and several films...all while continuing her American operatic performances. Due to an extremely heavy workload, Moffo suffered a serious vocal-breakdown in 1974, from which she never fully recovered. In later years, she gave several master classes through the Met. Her death at age 73 was preceded by a decade-long battle with cancer.
Biography
Anna Moffo was born in Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA to Italian parents, Nicola Moffo (a shoemaker) and his wife Regina Cinti. After graduating from Radnor High School, she turned down an offer to go to Hollywood and went instead to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where she studied with Eufemia Giannini-Gregory, sister of soprano Dusolina Giannini. In 1954, on a Fulbright Program scholarship, she left for Italy to complete her studies at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome where she was a pupil of Mercedes Llopart and Luigi Ricci. Moffo made her official operatic debut in 1955 in Spoleto as Norina in Don Pasquale.Shortly after, still virtually unknown and little experienced, she was offered the challenging role of Cio-Cio-San in an Italian television (RAI) production of Madama Butterfly. The telecast aired on January 24, 1956, and made Moffo an overnight sensation throughout Italy. Offers quickly followed and she appeared in two other television productions that same year, as Nannetta in Falstaff and as Amina in La Sonnambula. She appeared as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and made her recording debut for EMI as Nannetta (Falstaff) under Herbert von Karajan, and as Musetta in La Bohème with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano and Rolando Panerai. The following year (1957) saw her debut at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, at La Scala in Milan and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
Moffo returned to America for her debut there, as Mimì in La Bohème next to Jussi Björling's Rodolfo, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on October 16, 1957. Her Metropolitan Opera of New York debut took place on November 14, 1959 as Violetta in La traviata, a part that would quickly become her signature role. She performed at The Metropolitan Opera for seventeen seasons in roles such as Lucia, Gilda, Adina, Mimi, Liù, Nedda, Pamina, Marguerite, Juliette, Manon, Mélisande, Périchole, the four heroines of Les contes d'Hoffmann, etc.
In the late 1950s, she recorded Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, opposite Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Giuseppe Taddei, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini; and recitals of Mozart arias with EMI. She then became an exclusive RCA Victor artist..with whom she recorded most of her best operatic roles.
Moffo was also invited at the San Francisco Opera where she made her debut as Amina on October 1, 1960. During that period she also made several appearances on American television, while enjoying a successful international career singing at most major opera houses around the world (Stockholm, Berlin, Monte Carlo, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, etc.). She made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London, as Gilda, in a Franco Zeffirelli production of Rigoletto. Shortly after the Italian tenor Sergio Franchi joined the RCA recording family in America, they recorded a popular album of operetta duets, The Dream Duet, which peaked at number ninety seven on the Billboard 200 in 1963. Later that year Franchi and Moffo collaborated in recording The Great Moments From Die Fledermaus with The Vienna State Orchestra and Chorus, Oskar Dannon conducting. In 1999 this album was re-mastered and re-issued in High Performance Stereo.
Moffo remained particularly popular in Italy and performed there regularly. She hosted a program on Italian television "The Anna Moffo Show" (two series: the first in 1964; the second in 1967) and was voted one of the ten most beautiful women in Italy. She appeared in film versions of La traviata (1968) and Lucia di Lammermoor (1971), both produced (with the Italian TV director Sandro Bolchi) and directed by her first husband Mario Lanfranchi, as well as a few non-operatic films. In the early 1970s, she began appearing on German television and in operetta films such as Die Csárdásfürstin and Die schöne Galathee. She also recorded with Eurodisc the title roles in Carmen and Iphigenie in Aulis, as well as the role of Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel.
Such a heavy workload, however, led to physical exhaustion and a serious vocal-breakdown in 1974, from which she never fully recovered. Although she was able to resume her career in 1976, she appeared only sporadically. Her last appearance at the Met was during the 1983 Centennial celebrations, where she sang the Sigmund Romberg duet "Will You Remember?" with Robert Merrill. After retiring from singing Moffo remained active in the opera community as a Board Member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild and by hosting several tributes and giving occasional masterclasses.
Moffo was married twice, first to stage and film director Mario Lanfranchi, on December 8, 1957. The couple divorced in 1972. Her second marriage was to RCA executive Robert Sarnoff, on November 14, 1974. Sarnoff died on February 22, 1997.
Anna Moffo spent the last years of her life in New York City, where she died of a stroke at age 73, following a decade-long battle with breast cancer. She is interred with Sarnoff at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York.
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Filmography of Anna Moffo (7 films)
Actress
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The Adventurers (1970)
, 2h51Directed by Lewis Gilbert, Ernest Day
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure
Themes Monde imaginaire
Actors Bekim Fehmiu, Candice Bergen, Charles Aznavour, Olivia de Havilland, Fernando Rey, Thommy Berggren
Rating52%
Set in South America, it tells the tale of a rich playboy, Dax (Diogenes Alejandro Xenos) (Bekim Fehmiu) who uses and destroys everyone who crosses his path. His vileness results from having seen his mother and sister raped and murdered by Government troops. But his obsession is to avenge his father's murder. And yet, the father of Dax had been a true patriot unlike any of the other self-seeking Presidentes in an otherwise poor country always belonging to "the revolution." After Dax is himself shot and dies below a statue erected to exploit the memory of his father, does he finally realize he loved his country but had failed both his country and to be the man his father was.
A Girl Called Jules (1970)
, 1h46Directed by Tonino Valerii
Origin France
Genres Drama
Actors Silvia Dionisio, Tonino Valerii, John Steiner, Riccardo Garrone, Malisa Longo, Ivano Staccioli
Roles Lia
Rating54%
Après ses triomphes occidentaux, Valerii est sorti de l'ombre de Sergio Leone avec ce mélodrame sexuel distinctement bergmanien. Dionisio est parfait dans le rôle-titre et cela reste son meilleur film, Valerii apparaît également en cours de route. Juste au moment où le film atteint une période de pilote automatique, John Steiner apparaît dans la dernière bobine pour un point culminant tout à fait inoubliable. Un peu difficile à tracer mais cela en vaut la peine.
The Weekend Murders (1970)
Directed by Michele Lupo
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Horror, Crime
Actors Ida Galli, Anna Moffo, Gastone Moschin, Peter Baldwin, Lance Percival, Peter Baldwin
Roles Barbara Worth
Rating60%
The Divorce (1970)
, 1h40Directed by Romolo Guerrieri
Origin Italie
Genres Comedy
Actors Vittorio Gassman, Nino Castelnuovo, Anna Moffo, Mario Brega, Clara Colosimo, Nadia Cassini
Roles Elena, moglie di Leonardo
Rating57%
Leonardo Nenci, un ingénieur d'âge mûr décide après 15 ans de mariage de se séparer de son épouse Elena. Exaspéré par la vie conjugale il entend reprendre sa liberté.
La traviata (1967)
Origin Italie
Genres Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Films about prostitution, Musical films, Films based on operas, Erotic thriller films, Fictional prostitutes
Actors Anna Moffo
Rating78%
Version filmée en studio de l'opéra de Giuseppe Verdi.
Menage Italian Style (1965)
Directed by Franco Indovina
Genres Comedy
Actors Ugo Tognazzi, Anna Moffo, Maria Grazia Buccella, Dalida, Romina Power, Paola Barbara
Roles Giovanna
Rating62%
The Battle of Austerlitz (1960)
, 2h46Directed by Abel Gance
Origin France
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Themes French war films, Political films, Histoire de France, Napoleonic Wars films, French Revolution films
Actors Pierre Mondy, Martine Carol, Claudia Cardinale, Leslie Caron, Elvire Popesco, Georges Marchal
Roles Giuseppina Grassini
Rating63%
The first half of this film covers Napoleon's coronation as Emperor and political manoeuvrings while the second half covers the actual battle, where he beat both Austrian and Russian forces in his drive eastward.