Tecla Vigna
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Tecla Vigna (died April 1927) was an Italian opera singer and educator based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Early life
Tecla Vigna was born at Savigliano in northern Italy, and studied music at the Conservatory of Milan, where she earned her diploma in 1879.[1] She trained with voice teacher Francesco Lamperti.[2]
Career
Vigna, a contralto, performed roles in opera in several Italy cities[3] before being recruited by pianist Albino Gorno to the faculty of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1882.[4] Vigna wrote a text, 90 Daily Vocal Exercises (1894), published while she was teaching at the conservatory. After years of contentious disagreements with the school's administration,[5] she resigned from the college in 1906,[6] and soon she was teaching at her own school.[7][8] Her vocal method was described as "distinctly Italian, and distinctly modern, and dramatic in the very best sense of the term."[1] Her students gave well-reviewed recitals and were active in the Euterpe Society of Cincinnati.[9][4]
Personal life
Vigna became an American citizen in 1920.[10] In ill health, she closed her school and retired in 1925,[11][12] and moved back to Milan, where she died in 1927.[13] In 1932, one of her American students visited her grave in Milan, and left a bouquet of gardenias in tribute.[14]
References
- ^ a b J. S. V., "Tecla Vigna, Singer and Teacher" Musical Courier (May 27, 1908): 16.
- ^ "Tecla Vigna, a Producer of Artists" Musical Courier (June 27, 1916): 28.
- ^ Tecla Vigna listing, La Voce Antica.
- ^ a b "Signorina Tecla Vigna" Music (May 1892): 88.
- ^ "Miss Vigna to Fight Van der Stucken" Cincinnati Enquirer (February 10, 1897): 5. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Promise Not Kept" Cincinnati Enquirer (April 5, 1906): 12. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Cincinnati" Musical Courier (June 10, 1908): 24.
- ^ "Tecla Vigna, Distinguished Vocal Instructor, and her Pupils" Musical Courier (April 27, 1916): 65.
- ^ "Tecla Vigna's Pupils Win High Praise" Musical Courier (March 16, 1916): 44.
- ^ "Tecla Vigna to Become a Citizen" Music Magazine (December 23, 1920): 54.
- ^ "Tecla Vigna Ends Labors; Taught Many Noted Singers" Cincinnati Enquirer (June 21, 1925): 62. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Carl B. Adams, "Tecla Vigna's Farewell" Cincinnati Enquirer (June 26, 1925): 7. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Tecla Vigna Dies" Cincinnati Enquirer (April 22, 1927): 10. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "The Girl About Town" Indianapolis Star (January 20, 1935): 21. via Newspapers.com
- 1927 deaths
- Musicians from Cincinnati
- Italian contraltos
- Operatic contraltos
- Milan Conservatory alumni
- People from Savigliano
- Italian emigrants to the United States
- Singers from Ohio
- 19th-century Italian opera singers
- 19th-century Italian women singers
- 19th-century women opera singers
- University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music faculty
- Voice teachers
- Women music educators