Elvira de Hidalgo

Elvira de Hidalgo (1892 - 1980), was a Spanish-born soprano and singing teacher, whose best known student was Maria Callas. Of all Callas's teachers, de Hidalgo probably had the greatest influence on her technique and career.

She was born in Valderrobres, Spain. She had a significant singing career as a coloratura soprano before becoming a teacher at the Athens Conservatoire. She made several recordings for Columbia and Fonotipia. Her "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" is typical of the singing of the excellently-trained singers of the turn of the century. Her timbre, ease of production and great agility are all hallmarks of the kind of singing technique which such teachers as Mathilde Marchesi taught in the late 19th century. She was not, however, a pupil of Marchesi but of Melchiorre Vidal, who also taught Maria Barrientos, Graziella Pareto, Julián Gayarre, Fernando Valero, Francesco Vignas and Rosina Storchio. She died in Milan, Italy in 1980.

Maria Callas received the rigorous and well defined training of this Italian school of singing from her teacher. Callas's immaculate ornamentation, smooth scales, skillful use of her vocal registers all reflect the training of this vocal method. It is known that Callas attended the voice lessons of all her singing colleagues at the Athens Conservatoire, and this is likely to have greatly informed her own style and artistry.