Moffo, Anna (1932–2006)

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Moffo, Anna (1932–2006)

American soprano. Born Anna Moffo, June 27, 1932, in Wayne, PA; died Mar 9, 2006, in New York, NY; studied at Curtis Institute of Music with Giannini-Gregory and at Rome's Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Luigi Ricci and Mercedes Llopart; m. Mario Lanfranchi (film director and later her manager), 1957 (div. 1972); m. Robert Sarnoff (RCA chair), 1974 (died 1997).

Internationally renowned for voice and beauty, made stage debut in Spoleto as Norina in Don Pasquale (1955); appeared at La Scala in Falstaff (1957); made US debut as Mimi in La Bohème with Lyric Opera of Chicago (1957); made Metropolitan Opera debut as Violetta in La Traviata (1959); returned to Met to sing 3 new roles: Gilda in Rigoletto, Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore, and the slave girl Liù in Turandot (1960–61); enjoyed a 17-year run with the Met, during which time she gave 220 performances in 18 operas; had her own tv series in Italy, "The Anna Moffo Show" (1960–73); also appeared in over 20 films (including several in which she played straight dramatic roles), and made numerous recordings, including La Traviata, Madame Butterfly, La Rondine, and La Bohème with Maria Callas; began singing the heavier Verdi roles (late 1970s), such as Leonora in Il Trovatore and Lina in Stiffelio, then added the title role in Bellini's Norma (1991).

See also Women in World History.

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