 |
Rosa Ponselle
|
By Niccolò Graffio
“In my lifetime there have been three vocal miracles: Caruso, Ruffo and Ponselle. Apart from these there have been several wonderful singers.” – Tullio Serafin
As documented in previous articles, our people, the children the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, have left their mark on the history of mankind in a number of ways. We have produced prominent political figures, artists, doctors and even famous scientists.
Of all the endeavors of mankind, however, perhaps none has felt our mark as greatly as the realm of music! Books, TV shows and movies have been made about eminent singers and songwriters whose roots lie in Southern Italy. We have not only produced people considered noteworthy in this regard, we have produced those who can be considered truly great!
Opera is that noble art form that combines singing, songwriting, acting and drama. Our unmistakable fingerprint lies upon it! Whether it is the brilliant musical score of Bellini or the beautiful tenor of Caruso, we can say with no small measure of pride that we have contributed to the betterment and perpetuation of this hallmark of classic Western Civilization.
Those of our people who attained the status of legends in the opera world would therefore qualify as “Titans of the South”! The following gifted soprano, of humble origins who grew up to sing before kings, queens and presidents, was certainly no exception.
Rosa Melba Ponzillo was born January 22nd, 1897 in Meriden, Connecticut. She was the youngest of three children. Her parents were Neapolitan immigrants from Italy.
At an early age Rosa and her sister Carmela displayed talent as singers. Rosa especially had an unusually mature voice for her age and was able to sing with little musical training. Rosa’s first musical instructor was her own mother, and later a woman named Anna Ryan, a local church organist who gave her piano lessons. In time Rosa became a piano accompanist for silent films playing in and around Meriden.
It was her sister, Carmela, however, who lured her away from a career as an instrumentalist with her own desire to become a cabaret singer. Following the lead of her sister, Rosa would often augment her engagements by singing popular songs to delighted audiences while the projectionist would change reels.
Eventually she would give up her career as a piano player/singer and follow her sister Carmela to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where she joined her older sibling in Vaudeville. The two were billed as The Ponzillo Sisters (or sometimes as “Those Tailored Italian Girls”) and were a success on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit.
With increased fame, however, came demands for increased fortune. As a result their act was dropped. The two made their way to New York City where Carmela took voice lessons.
It was Rosa, however, who would hit it big when she came to the attention of the legendary Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso who heard her sing. Caruso was said to have been deeply impressed by the richness of her voice and arranged for her to audition for Giulio Gatti-Casazza. Gatti-Casazza was, at that time, the director of the Metropolitan Opera. Equally impressed with her, Gatti-Casazza offered her a contract with the Met for the 1918-19 season.
She made her operatic debut (billed as Rosa Ponselle) on November 1915, 1918 opposite Caruso himself in the challenging role of Leonora in Giuseppi Verdi’s La forza del destino. She prepared for the role under the tutelage of Romano Romani, who would remain her voice coach and teacher for the remainder of her career.
Her performance brought the house down! Ironically, she was nervous almost to the point of paralysis being in the presence of the great Caruso. Though she would go on to establish an unforgettable career, stage fright would plague her the rest of her life.
She would hide this fact from her fans, who were drawn to her redoubtable voice and Mediterranean allure. She would go on to sing a total of 19 seasons at the Met.
While most of her career was spent performing there, she also sang at Covent Garden in London (1929-30) and the Maggio Musicale in Florence (1933). In both places audiences greeted her performances with great enthusiasm, but she decided against singing at La Scala in Milan and returned home to America. During her tenure at the Met, she sang a total of 22 dramatic and dramatic-coloratura roles. Among her many successes were Carl Maria von Weber’s Oberon and Joseph Carl Breill’s The Legend.
The work that would establish her as a living legend, though, was her performance in Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. To this day, many music historians argue her performance was the best of this most difficult role.
In spite of her great success, she always remained acutely sensitive to criticism. In 1935 she performed the role of Carmen for the first time at the Met. Though audiences packed in to hear her, critics were less than positive. Olin Downes of the New York Times wrote an especially brutal review which reportedly hurt her deeply.
In 1936 she married Baltimore socialite Carle A. Jackson and settled just outside Baltimore, Maryland in a luxurious home she would live in the rest of her life. By this time years of battling stage fright (and officials at the Met), plus her receding upper register, had taken their toll on Ponselle. Rather than abruptly retire she quietly slipped away from the stage.
Rosa’s marriage to Jackson was never a good one and they divorced in 1949. The breakup was especially traumatic for her, and she suffered a nervous breakdown as a result. She eventually recovered, and though she never returned to the stage, she continued to sing at home for friends, who reported her voice remained as magnificent as always.
In 1954 RCA Victor had her record a wide variety of songs, which became commercial successes. She remained busy in retirement, aiding the fledgling Baltimore Civic Opera Company by coaching and giving voice lessons to up and coming singers who performed there. Among her students were future greats Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills.
Rosa Ponselle died at her home on May 25th, 1981 aged 84, after a long battle with bone marrow cancer. She is buried in Druid Ridge Cemetery located in Pikesville, Maryland just outside the city of Baltimore, MD.
Though the bulk of people alive today would probably express ignorance at the mention of her name, to opera buffs she remains a legend. She is ranked with Dame Joan Sutherland and La Divina herself, Maria Callas, as one of the three greatest sopranos of the 20th century. She was the first American-born, American-trained opera singer to star at the Met, and she has rightfully earned herself a place alongside other Titans of the South!
Further reading:
• James A. Drake: Rosa Ponselle – A Centenary Biography; Amadeus Press, 2003
