Ines Alfani-Tellini

Alfani-Tellini

Ines Alfani-Tellini (31 May 1896 – 1 June 1985) was an Italian soprano and vocal coach.

Biography

Ines Alfani-Tellini was born in Florence. She studied in Florence and Milan and made her debut in 1921 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan as Nedda in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. That same year she also appeared at the Teatro della Pergola, and the following year at the Teatro Regio in Parma. In 1923, Arturo Toscanini gave her the role of Nanetta in Verdi's Falstaff at La Scala in Milan. Successful appearances followed at La Scala between 1923 and 1926, and later again between 1938 and 1940. She made a guest appearance with the theater's ensemble in Berlin in 1929.

Alfani made guest appearances at the Teatro Colón in 1928 as Mimi in La bohème and at the Paris Opera in 1935 as Nanetta in Falstaff. Her greatest successes, however, were in Italian opera houses with operas by Mozart and the classical bel canto repertoire for coloratura soprano. In 1942 she ended her career as an opera singer at La Fenice in Venice, but remained active as a concert singer.

In 1931 she sang in L'amico Fritz at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania. Also famous abroad, thanks to collaboration with the Soviet government she gave concerts in Moscow and Leningrad in 1934, 1936 and 1938. She was the first Italian opera singer to perform there.

Following World War II, she retired from singing, devoting himself to both teaching and directing chamber operas.

In 1948, he directed the opera Il vecchio geloso, with music by Carlo Savina and libretto by Mario Verdone performed August 17, 1948, at the Teatro dei Rozzi in Siena with the orchestra conducted by Vittorio Baglioni; the opera won the Accademia Chigiana prize.

She also taught at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and later at the Tel Aviv Conservatory. One of her students was the soprano Elena Mauti Nunziata. There are numerous recordings of Alfani, including complete recordings of Falstaff, L'elisir d'amore, Don Pasquale and Carmen on Columbia Records and several recordings on His Master's Voice.

Mother of screenwriter Piero Tellini, she passed away in 1985 at the age of 89, just days before her son's death.

References

• Kutsch, Karl-Josef & Leo Riemens (2004). Großes Sängerlexikon. 4. Ausgabe Walter de Gruyter, p. 58.