Renata Scotto, one of the world’s most renowned sopranos, has passed away suddenly in her New York home, and the opera world is grieving her loss. “My heart is in pieces,” Placido Domingo wrote on social media, describing her as “one of the greatest opera singers of all time, a dedicated teacher to young singers, and personally, one of my most frequent stage partners, with over a hundred performances together. But most importantly, a dear friend.”
Born in Savona in 1934, she made her debut at the age of nineteen in La Traviata, right in her hometown. The following year, she debuted at La Scala with La Wally, marking the start of a career that spanned Italy and the world. She toured with the Scala company in England in 1957, sharing the stage with Maria Callas and Rosanna Carteri, showcasing an extensive repertoire. Besides her singing, she also ventured into opera direction and teaching, founding the Renata Scotto Opera Academy in Savona.
“She tied her name and her art to opera music worldwide, and her voice illuminated our Florentine stage on numerous occasions,” paid homage to the Teatro del Maggio. “A musician to whom La Scala, along with the entire opera world, owes an immense debt of gratitude. Exemplary vocal technique,” as emphasized by Piermarini, “but above all, an intelligence of poetic and musical text unparalleled, and a dramatic sensitivity always dominated by impeccable taste, allowed the Ligurian soprano to interpret a variety of roles at La Scala and around the world, from Bellini to Donizetti to Verdi, leaving an indelible mark of an unmistakable personality in each.”
