Operatic soprano Antonietta Stella – born Maria Antonietta Stella on March 15, 1929, in Perugia, Italy – was one of the popular Italian sopranos of the 1950s and 1960s. After studying at the Conservatorio Francesco Morlacchi and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), she made her debut in 1950 as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore. Her schedule over the next several years included performances throughout Italy - Florence, Naples, Parma, Turin, Catania, and Venice – and in Germany. She performed at the famous La Scala in Milan, Italy for the first time in 1954 – as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello – and performed there frequently over the next nine years. Antonietta Stella made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London, England, in 1955, before debuting at La Monnaie (Brussels, Belgium), the Lyric Opera (Chicago, Illinois), and the Vienna State Opera (Austria). She made her Metropolitan Opera (New York) debut in 1956. While maintaining a busy performance schedule, her recordings were also acclaimed by critics and opera fans alike. Her early recordings included Verdi: Don Carlo (1955), Puccini: Highlights from La Bohème (1956), Puccini: Tosca (1958), and more. Antonietta Stella continued to achieve praise and acclaim for performances such as her star turn in a 1958 production of Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera. Later performances included playing the role of Irmengarda in Spontini's Agnes von Hohenstaufen (1970) and in the title role of Enzo de Bellis’ Maria Stuarda (1974). Along with later recordings, Antonietta Stella’s catalog also includes compilations such as Italian Opera Arias (2009) and Grandi Voci: Antonietta Stella and Virginia Zeani (2021). Antonietta Stella died on February 23, 2022, at the age of 92.
