Graziella Sciutti

Graziella Sciutti (born 17 April 1927 in Turin, Italy; died 9 April 2001 in Geneva) was an Italian soprano opera singer.

Referred to as "The Callas of the Piccola Scala" Sciutti was renowned for her interpretation of Mozart's "soubrette" characters, Susanna, Despina, and perhaps especially for her 1959 role as Zerlina in one of the evergreen opera recordings of all time, of Mozart's "Don Giovanni", with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Carlo Maria Giulini, with Joan Sutherland, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Giuseppe Taddei and other great opera performers.

Although some found her voice to be thin on occasion, she was much sought after for her voice technique and her acting ability. Nobody could dispute her ability to project the innocence, perky cheerfulness and coquetry found in the many delightful roles written for that kind of voice. She is sublime, flawless, spine-tingling, in the famous tense seduction duet "La ci darem la mano" from the above-mentioned recording.

She studied in Rome at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, and made her debut at Aix-en-Provence in 1951. She appeared as Rosina in Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" in 1954. Later she appeared in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, at Salzburg, Vienna and in San Francisco. In later years she turned her attention to teaching and operatic production. She produced Poulenc's "La voix humaine" at Glyndebourne in 1977, and Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore" at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and in 1985 Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at Koblenz. She taught at London's Royal College of Music.

ources

* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/graziella-sciutti-729192.html Obituary in The Observer]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6DA1331F937A25757C0A9679C8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Obituary in the New York Times]