Ester Adaberto
Ester Adaberto (1872 – 1951), born Ester Nunez de Arce, was an Italian opera singer.
Early life
Ester Nunez de Arce was born in Naples, and raised in Milan. Her father was Spanish, possibly a music professional,[1] and her mother was Neapolitan.[2]
Career
Ester Adaberto, a soprano,[3] debuted on the opera stage in 1897, in Pagliacci at the Teatro Nuovo in Mirandola. She was a member of the Castellano Opera Company and toured Eastern Europe with them. At Vilna she was shot in the arm by a jealous Russian suitor.[2]
In about 1905, she moved to the United States, and toured from coast to coast.[4] She and Nicola Zerola starred in Aida (1909) with the Italian Grand Opera Company,[5] and she sang in Il trovatore (1909)[6] at the Metropolitan Opera in New York,[7] and in Tosca (1913) in San Francisco.[8] In 1913 she traveled to Honolulu with the Lombardi Opera Company.[9][10] In 1914-1915 she was a leading dramatic soprano with the San Carlo Opera Company.[11][12] In March 1915, Adaberto was called away for a family emergency in Italy, and Alice Eversman took over her role in Aida.[13] Adaberto made four recordings.[2]
Adaberto's repertoire was said to consist of thirty operas.[1] She was described as "beautiful and charming"[4], with "a flexible voice of wide range...although at times a metallic quality detracted from the effect."[14]
Personal life
She retired from performing in 1917, in grief after the death of her son in World War I. Adaberto died in 1951, aged 79 years, in Milan.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Mme. Ester Adaberto, Dramatic Soprano" Springfield Missouri Republican (November 15, 1914): 15. via Newspapers.com
- ^ a b c d "Ester Adaberto" La Voce Antica.
- ^ "Music" The Nation (September 17, 1908): 271.
- ^ a b "Mme. Ester Adaberto, Prima Donna Soprano" The Lincoln Star (December 9, 1914): 2. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Aida Will Open the Academy Season" New York Times (August 25, 1909): 9.
- ^ and she sangIl Trovatore Metropolitan Opera House (March 10, 1909).
- ^ "The Theatre" The Independent (January 22, 1910): 10.
- ^ "Ester Adaberto Impresses Crowd" San Francisco Call (January 31, 1913): 4. via California Digital Newspaper Collection
- ^ Ferdinand J. H. Schnack, The Aloha Guide (1915): 127-128.
- ^ "Andrea Chenier is Musical; Adaberto and Agostini Sing Together for the First Time" Honolulu Star-Advertiser (March 19, 1913): 5. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Ester Adaberto Rescues Opera As Failure Threatens" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (November 14, 1914): 5. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "New York to Open with Grand Opera" Minneapolis Star Tribune (December 20, 1914): 44. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Alice Eversman in Opera 'Aida'" The Morning News (March 17, 1915): 13. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Music Lovers Enjoy Opera" The News (November 1, 1913): 5. via Newspapers.com
