A great voice died out. One of the biggest Italian sopranos, Mirella Freni, died Sunday at the age of 84 at her home in Modena following a long illness, elected officials of her region told the Italian press.
The announcement immediately sparked an anthology of tributes on specialist opera sites around the world.
Farewells in 2005 in Washington
Born in Modena (north) like the tenor Luciano Pavarotti, she was his partner on stage and a great friend. She shared the same nurse as Luciano Pavarotti, their two mothers working in the same tobacco factory and unable to breastfeed them.
Mirella Freni was a star of "after Callas" at La Scala in Milan. She particularly shone in the Italian repertoire, especially in the roles of Mimi ( La Bohème by Puccini) and Desdémone ( Otello by Verdi). Mirella Freni was greatly appreciated by Herbert von Karajan, of whom she became the favorite soprano for Italian operas.
She had married in second wedding the Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, who motivated her to also launch into the Russian repertoire.
She had said goodbye to the lyrical world at the Washington Opera in 2005, at the age of 70, performing Jeanne d'Arc as a young girl, after half a century of a great international career.
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