Dusolina Giannini

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American opera singer (1899–1986)

title: "Dusolina Giannini" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1899-births", "1986-deaths", "20th-century-american-women-opera-singers", "american-operatic-sopranos", "singers-from-philadelphia", "american-people-of-italian-descent", "american-expatriates-in-switzerland", "classical-musicians-from-pennsylvania"] description: "American opera singer (1899–1986)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusolina_Giannini" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American opera singer (1899–1986) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Dusolina Giannini
image	Dusolina Giannini 1.jpg
alt	A young woman with fair skin and dark hair, seated indoors, with a magazine or newspaper open on her lap
birth_date
birth_place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
death_date
death_place	Zurich, Switzerland
other_names	Dusolina Giannini Richter
occupation
spouse
mother	Antonietta Briglia Giannini
father	Ferruccio Giannini
relatives
signature	Dusolina Giannini Signatur 1938.svg
::

Dramatic soprano
prima donna
opera singer
music teacher | spouse = | mother = Antonietta Briglia Giannini | father = Ferruccio Giannini | relatives =
Vittorio Giannini (brother)
Eufemia Giannini Gregory (sister)
Margaret Giannini (cousin) | signature = Dusolina Giannini Signatur 1938.svg

Dusolina Giannini (1899–1986) was an Italian-American dramatic soprano, prima donna, opera singer, music teacher, and member of the Giannini family.

Early life and education

Dusolina Giannini was born on 19 December 1899 in Philadelphia, to Antonietta Briglia Giannini (1873–1934) and Ferruccio Giannini (1868–1948). Giannini's birth year is commonly miscited as 1902.

Giannini's mother, born in Marsicovetere, was a violinist. Giannini's father, born in Ponte d'Arbia, was an opera singer and tenor. Giannini had five siblings, three of which survived to adulthood. Her siblings included Eufemia Giannini Gregory (1895-1979), a voice teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music, and Vittorio Giannini (1903–1966), a composer. Giannini's paternal cousin was Margaret Giannini.

Giannini's first studied singing under her father, and later studied under Marcella Sembrich.

Career

Giannini began in concert in 1923, appearing as a substitute to Anna Case in Manhattan. In 1924, Giannini appeared in London and Havana. In 1925, Giannini made her operatic debut in Hamburg as Aida. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Dusolina_Giannini_(Musical_Advance,_1924).png" caption="Giannini in 1924"] ::

She sang at the Salzburg Festival in 1934, as Donna Anna and Alice Ford, and made her debut at the Paris Opéra in 1936, as Donna Anna. In 1938, she created, in Hamburg, the role of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter, an opera composed by her brother Vittorio Giannini.

She sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1935 to 1942, also appearing at the Chicago City Opera Company (1938–42) and the San Francisco Opera (1939–43). She also took part in the first season of the New York City Opera in 1943, as Tosca. After the war, she continued appearing in Paris, London, Berlin, and Vienna. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Dusolina_Giannini_(Musical_Advance,_1924)_cover.png" caption="Giannini in 1924"] ::

In the 1960s Giannini retired from the opera, and became a music teacher.

Voice

Giannini's voice was a dramatic soprano, characterised by a strong temperament and fine musicianship. She can be heard on a complete recording of Aida from 1928, opposite Aureliano Pertile.

Personal life and death

On the 26 December 1942, Giannini married Elmer Alan Richter (1888–1974) at her parent's home in Philadelphia.

Giannini died in Zurich on 29 June 1986 at the age of 86.

References

Sources

Le Guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique, R. Mancini & J.J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986),
Grove Music Online, Max de Schauensee, Oxford Press University, April 2008.

References

(2001). "Giannini, Dusolina". Oxford University Press.
(1900). "Deuslina M Gannini [Giannini]". 1900 United States Federal Census.
(2016). "Giannini, Dusolina, 1902-1986". The Library of Congress.
(2010). "Giannini, Dusolina (1902-1986) forme internationale". Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(1900). "Antonetta Gannini [Giannini]". 1900 United States Federal Census.
(2023). "Giannini, Ferruccio (EN)". Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne.
(1917). "51324: Antoinetta Briglia Giannini". National Archives and Records Administration.
"Ferruccio Giannini". OCLC.
"Giannini, Ferruccio". Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
(2010). "Giannini, Ferruccio (1869-1948) forme internationale". Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(1900). "Raymond Gianini". Ancestry.com Operations, Inc..
(1902). "Ferruccio Giannini". Ancestry.com Operations, Inc..
"Francis F Giannini". U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Gregory, Euphemia Giannini, Mme., 1985-1979". Curtis Institute of Music.
(2016). "Giannini, Vittorio, 1903-1966". The Library of Congress.
(25 October 1924). "MUSIC AND DRAMA. MR. DANIEL MASTER AND SIGNORINA DUSOLINA GIANNINI.". The Sydney Morning Herald.
(June 7, 1937). "Music: Mother’s Mass". Time Inc..
(January 15, 1943). "Giannini, Opera Soprano, Reveals Wedding Dec. 26". The New York Times Archives.
(1974). "Department of State Foreign Service of the United States of America; Report of the Death of an American Citizen; American Consulate General, Zurich, Switzerland, November 7, 1974; Elmer Alan Richter". National Archive at College Park.

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