An Italian soprano, Celestina Casapietra worked for many years at the Berlin Opera and shared her life with conductor Herbert Kegel. Born in Genoa on August 23, 1938 (or 1939, depending on the source), she took piano lessons and sang in a church choir before studying opera at the conservatory of her native city, then in Milan with Gina Cigna. After making her stage debut in 1961 and winning several competitions, the coloratura soprano made a name for herself in Italy and France. In 1964, the conductor Otmar Suitner, who had hired her to sing in Wagner's Parsifal, recommended her to the Berlin State Opera, where, after a few roles, she became a permanent member from 1965 to 1993. In addition to the Mozart and Wagner operas for which she is best known, her repertoire continues to expand, with Fidelio (Beethoven), Der Freischütz (Weber), Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), Andrea Chénier (Giordano), Manon (Massenet), Giulio Cesare (Handel), Falstaff (Verdi) and Turandot (Puccini). In 1966, Celestine Casapietra married conductor Herbert Kegel, with whom she recorded Carmina Burana by Car Orff in 1975, before divorcing in 1983. Alongside her regular work in Berlin, the singer appeared on many other stages, including La Fenice in Venice, the Vienna Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Munich Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Retired to Sori in Italy, Celestina Casapietra died on August 10, 2024 at the age of 85.
