Licia Albanese

Albanese was one of the most beloved sopranos in the Italian repertoire, specializing in roles that suited her physical and vocal appearances of vulnerability and delicacy. She specialized in Puccini, and was associated with his Madama Butterfly more than with any other role. Her voice was smallish and not always precise in pitch, and could turn edgy under pressure, but nonetheless, her vocal and dramatic intensity and sense of apt staging made her performances riveting. She first studied piano, but switched her energies to voice, studying with Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi....