Anita Cerquetti [SEP] voice type
Anita Cerquetti
Anita Cerquetti (13 April 193111 October 2014) was an Italian dramatic soprano who had a short but meteoric career in the 1950s. Her voice was very powerful and pleasing to audiences.
Career.
Cerquetti was born in Montecosaro, near Macerata, Italy. She originally studied violin and trained eight years with Luigi Mori. After a mere year of vocal study at the Conservatory of Perugia, she made her operatic debut in Spoleto in 1951 as Aida. She sang all over Italy, notably in Florence as
title role in "Aida" in July 1958, but was forced to withdraw following an appendectomy in late June. She was replaced by Leontyne Price. Anita Cerquetti was thus destined never to sing at Covent Garden.
Cerquetti sang relatively little in America. Her debut there was at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1955, as Amelia in "Un ballo in maschera" opposite Jussi Björling, under Tullio Serafin. She made only two commercial recordings, both for Decca in 1957, a recital of Italian opera arias and a