Pauline Viardot was born in France in 1821 into a Spanish musical family -- her father was a composer and had created the role of Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, and her sister Maria Malibran went on to become one of the most acclaimed divas of the nineteenth century. While she was a child, her family moved to New York, where her father introduced Italian opera to American audiences. Her own accomplishments were staggering. She made her debut at the age of 17 as Desdemona in Rossini's Otello; premiered many important ...
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Pauline Viardot was born in France in 1821 into a Spanish musical family -- her father was a composer and had created the role of Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, and her sister Maria Malibran went on to become one of the most acclaimed divas of the nineteenth century. While she was a child, her family moved to New York, where her father introduced Italian opera to American audiences. Her own accomplishments were staggering. She made her debut at the age of 17 as Desdemona in Rossini's Otello; premiered many important works, such as Brahms' Alto Rhapsody; and had numerous works dedicated to her. She wasn't a beauty, but the force of her personality made her a riveting performer, and she was the subject of extravagant adulation, from both musicians and the public. Although she didn't consider herself a composer, she wrote many songs and operettas, many of them in collaboration with her lover, Ivan Turgenev, who immortalized her in a fictionalized character in his play, A Month in the Country. She...
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