Born in Wayne, Pennsylvania to an Italian American couple in 1932, the opera singer Anna Moffo began her formal music studies at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 1951. Initially intending to pursue a piano course, she found that the available spots were filled, so she auditioned for the vocal program and was accepted. At the Curtis Institute, Moffo also studied piano, viola, and composition, under the guidance of soprano Euphemia Giannini Gregory and pianist Martha Halbwachs Massena. In 1953, Moffo made her debut with a solo recital at the Tri-County Concerts Association. During her time at Curtis, under Gregory’s dynamic teaching, she quickly engaged with the core works of the classical repertoire.
In 1954, she won the Philadelphia Orchestra Young Artists Auditions and moved to Rome to train as a singer as a Fulbright fellow. Moffo made her debut at the Teatro Lirico in Spoleto a year later. After an audition, she won the role of Cio-Cio San in a television production of Madama Butterfly (1956), directed by Mario Lanfranchi. The broadcast, which aired on Italian national television in January 1956, marked her breakthrough in Italy and began her long career as a television opera star during the black-and-white era. Although Moffo primarily accepted lyric soprano roles early in her career, she also developed a vocal technique that enabled her to take on the more agile lyric soprano repertoire.
She made her debut at the old Metropolitan Opera in New York on 14 November 1959, performing the role that would become her signature, Violetta in La traviata. Between 1955 and 1975, Moffo’s career took her to the world’s most prestigious theaters, including the inaugural series of performances at the new Metropolitan Opera in New York. During this period, she consistently demonstrated remarkable vocal stamina, appearing in over 200 performances at the Metropolitan Opera alone.
Moffo’s physical beauty, captivating presence, and exceptional stage and acting skills not only secured her continuous engagements in prestigious theaters but also led to successful ventures in film, where she performed admirably. Her participation in various productions showcased her innate acting talent. Moffo’s artistic versatility is evident in her diverse roles as a soprano, solo pianist, musicologist, presenter, narrator, composer, and even as a pop music singer. This breadth of talent was documented in various Italian television variety shows.
This according to the entry on Anna Moffo in DEUMM Online.
Below is a performance by Anna Moffo on Italian television.
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