LINA BRUNA RASA (MILAN, 24 SEPTEMBER,
1907 – MILAN, 20 SEPTEMER, 1984)
On a chilly October day in 1984, a few lonely
mourners followed a simple casket to a grave in Milan. They remembered a woman
who had lived in seclusion, incarcerated in a mental institution for nearly
forty years. They were indeed few, and they wept. They had known her when her
name meant “verismo” to an adoring world, and they had been faithful to the
end. They remembered to visit from time to time, and, on occasion they took her
for short automobile trips, so that she, too, might remember . They said that
she did remember and that she enjoyed those brief moments of freedom. They said
that she smiled though she did not speak. Hers is an extraordinary story!
Lina Bruna Rasa was born on 24 Sept 1907 in Padua, Italy (Padova) and began
musical studies at the age of fourteen. It was very apparent from the beginning
that she was a dramatic soprano and that her instincts as an actress would play
a major role in her stage development. So impressed were her teachers, that she
was persuaded to make an unscheduled debut at Venices Teatro La Fenice on 20
May 1925, singing “Suicidio” from La Gioconda. Lina was seventeen years old!
She finished her studies during the summer of 1925, and before the year was out
made her opera debut at Genoa’s Teatro Politeama as Elena in Mefistofele with
Maria Zamboni, Giulio Rotondi and Ezio Pinza. The reviews were tremendous and
the director of Turin’s Teatro Regio offered Lina a contract for ten performances
in Mefistofele with Rosina Torri, Aureliano Pertile and Nazzareno de Angelis
under the baton of Gino Marinuzzi. She debuted at the Regio on 21 February,
1926, and, with these performances, her reputation and career were assured. The
revival was a most impressive success, but it was the unknown Lina who walked
away with the headlines. The city of Treviso engaged her for seven additional
performances of the opera in April and later in the year she sang Amelia in Un
Ballo in Maschera at Reggio Emilia. The priest/composer, Refice, unveiled his
opera/oratorio Trittico Francescano at Assisi in October with Lina in the role
of St. Clare. She veritably swooned with religious passion during several of
the episodes, and Refice declared her to have been greater, in every way, than
he might ever have expected. Milan’s Dal Verme presented her in
Mefistofele at years end, and on 6 January 1927 she debuted at Cairo’s Teatro
Reale as Elena. On the 24th, she sang Aida for the first time and in February
she sang in Buttis Omonizia. Her stay in Egypt continued until well into April
with a long visit to Alexandria after which she traveled to Lausanne for her
first performances of Cavalleria Rusticana as well as her debut in Il
Trovatore. At Reggio Emilia, Lina repeated the role of the saint from Assisi,
with Refice on the podium, and in September she appeared as the Trovatore
Leonora at Carpi. After a debut at Piacenza in Il Trovatore, on 16 November she
debuted at La Scala in Mefistofele with Giuseppina Cobelli, Pertile and Tancredi
Pasero under Toscanini’s direction. Lina’s ovations were endless, and
Toscanini, pen and contract in hand, received her commitment to an extended
stay at Milan during the following spring. After performances of
Cavalleria Rusticana at Bari, Lina debuted at Trieste’s Teatro Verdi in
Smareglia’s I Pittori Fiamminghi, and at Piacenza she sang Maddalena di Coigny
for the first time on 28 February 1928. On 17 April she returned to La Scala
for two performances as Dolly in Sly with Pertile, and on the 6th of May she
sang in Andrea Chenier with Pertile and Carlo Galeffi. At the conclusion of
“Vicino a te”, during the musical postlude, the applause built to a crescendo
so great that Ettore Panizza seemed to be conducting air. The next day’s
newspapers reported that the orchestra could not be heard. Mascagni and
Lina met for the first time at Venice on 19 July when he conducted her in
Cavalleria Rusticana in the Piazza San Marco before some forty thousand people.
The chemistry was immediate and he prevailed upon her to learn Isabeau for an
upcoming revival at his home theater, the Goldoni of Livorno. On 18 August she
attempted the role and was a failure; so poorly did she sing, in fact, that she
was replaced immediately by Tina Poli Randaccio. However, Mascagni decided that
his hometown should have an opportunity to see Lina at her best, and he
replaced Isabeau with Cavalleria Rusticana at later performances. Her success
was enormous and she was rushed to Bergamo, where, at the Teatro Donizetti, she
debuted as Santuzza on 30 August with Galliano Masini and Domenico Viglione
Borghese. Four scheduled performances became six. The legend had begun!
After a sensational Tosca at Forli with Pertile and Giovanni Inghilleri, Lina
returned to La Scala for additional performances of Sly and a new opera La
Maddalena in which she used her prodigious histrionic talents to the fullest,
according to contemporary reviews. In January 1929 she opened the Palais de la
Mediterannee at Nice as La Gioconda and later in the month sang Margherita in
Mefistofele for the only times in her career in a cast that included Gina Cigna
as Elena and Pertile as Faust. The spring found her back at La Scala for
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Tsar Saltan and Franchetti’s Germania, after which she
departed for South America. Lina debuted at the Buenos Aires Teatro Colցn on 14
June in Andrea Chenier with Georges Thill and Apollo Granforte and later sang
in Tosca, Cavalleria Rusticana and in the South American premiere of Respighi’s
Compana Sommersa. She and Granforte visited Rosario with Tosca and in late
August, at Montevideo, she sang in Chenier with Thill and Granforte and in
Tosca with Pedro Mirassou and Granforte. Her reviews were extraordinary and
audiences were enormously responsive but Lina’s debut season was to be her
farewell season, as well. She never again appeared in South America, or
anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. In the autumn she appeared at Bologna
as Desdemona with Renato Zanelli, and in Compana Sommersa with which she also
opened the La Scala season on 7 December. In January 1930 she sang Venus to the
Elizabeth of Gina Cigna and the Tannhauser of Antonio Melandri and in March she
sang in Guglielmo Tell with Giacomo Lauri Volpi, Benvenuto Franci and Pasero.
She again brought audiences to their feet in Andrea Chenier and she ended her
Milan season with Vittadini’s La Sagredo. In May Lina debuted at Zurich with
Tosca and in September she sang in Otello at Bari’s Teatro Petruzzelli with
Zanelli. In October Lina returned to Livorno where, at the Terrazza Mascagni,
under the composer’s direction, she sang in Zanetto with Gianna Pederzini. The
year ended at La Scala as Loreley with Francesco Merli and Carlo
Tagliabue. 1931 presented several debuts for Lina, Cavalleria Rusticana
at Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice, Il Trovatore at Monte Carlo and Guglielmo Tell
with Merli and Franci at the Verona Arena. She also returned to La Scala for
Cavalleria Rusticana, to Bergamo for Tosca with Alessandro Ziliani and Luigi
Rossi-Morelli, and to Bologna for La Wally with Melandri and Armando Borgioli.
Lina Bruna Rasa had risen to the very top of Italy’s operatic ladder and she
had every reason to be happy. But, late in 1931 an acute depression began to
manifest itself , and there were several evenings when she failed to appear for
scheduled performances. Rome and Naples, Italy’s second and third theaters,
refused to hire Lina, though many entreaties were made, and some of the other
large theaters backed off from making commitments. In 1932, La Scala
presented Lina only as Santuzza. Palermo presented her in La Forza del Destino
in March; Florence’s Communale invited her to appear as Elena during the Maggio
Musicale, and the Verona Arena mounted a stellar revival of L’Africaine with
Margherita Carosio, Gigli and Armando Borgioli in August. Lina also sang in
several of Italy’s provincial theaters including Aida at Pola and Tosca at
Parma’s Teatro Reinach, but it was Mascagni who would step into a difficult
situation and salvage the better part of her year, and ultimately, the rest of
Lina’s career. He arranged contracts at Como for Isabeau and at Brescia, Novara
and Pisa for Cavalleria Rusticana. The performances at Pisa were particularly
wrenching for Lina and she suffered severe panic attacks when Mascagni turned
over the baton to Maestro Benvenuti Giusti for the third performance. It was
all she could do to complete the evening. In 1933 she debuted at Parma’s Regio
as Aida and in February she portrayed the Ethiopian princess to great acclaim
at Barcelona’s Liceo. Mascagni again received the call, and in April he
presented her at the Casino of San Remo as Santuzza in what was billed as a
gala performance in their honor. Lina was happy in his presence and the
performance was a complete triumph. In the summer she sang in Andrea Chenier
and Selvaggi’s Maggiolata Veneziana for Italian Radio, in Ballo in Maschera at
Ancona with Pertile and in Aida at Carpi. It was during these performances that
her colleagues first began to notice serious problems. Giovanni Breviario, in
his autobiographical sketches, stated that, “she was already manifesting the
symptoms of mental illness that would finally overtake her”. The year ended
with eight performances of Cavalleria Rusticana for Italian radio, four each at
Turin and at Rome, all under Mascagni’s direction. They were relayed to radio
stations throughout Italy and were extraordinarily successful. In the annals of
Italian Radio, there is no other revival that approached eight
performances. Lina continued to be coached and coaxed by Mascagni , and
in 1934 she appeared in Isabeau at Piacenza and Novara as well as in a recorded
performance for Italian Radio with Mascagni on the podium. After a two-year
absence she sang at La Scala in May, appearing as Elena with Caniglia, Galliano
Masini and Pinza,and in June she sang Fedora for Italian Radio. At the end of
the month Lina made her German debut at Frankfurt as Tosca with Nino Piccaluga
and Mariano Stabile. In August Lina traveled with Mascagni to the small
Sicilian town of Noto for a memorable revival of Cavalleria Rusticana. Masini,
who was there for Andrea Chenier with Pampanini and Granforte, recalled that it
was a truly mesmerizing operatic experience and that Mascagni was excited in a
touchingly childlike way at their success. Masini, like Mascagni, was from
Livorno, and they were lifelong friends. Lina then performed Tosca at Bari with
Angelo Minghetti and Giuseppe Danise. Shortly after the company left Sicily,
Mascagni devoted his full attention to the world premiere of Nerone which he
fully expected to be presented at Rome’s Coliseum. The plan fell through, and
after long negotiations with Mussolini, who wanted to stage the opening in
Rome, it was scheduled for La Scala in January of 1935. Mascagni again went to
the well and chose Lina as the prima donna of his new work, a risk which paid
off handsomely as she was generously praised by all of Milan’s critics the day
after the premiere. The rest of the cast, Carosio, Pertile, Granforte and
Pasero were equally lauded, and though the opera failed to gain a foothold in
the repertory, it was enormously popular in its first season and in its
subsequent premieres at Livorno, Bologna, Genoa, Rome, Naples and Zurich. Lina
was in high spirits after her triumph and shortly thereafter appeared in La
Forza del Destino at the Carlo Felice with Gigli and De Angelis. In April she
returned to Livorno for Tosca with Luigi Marletta and Granforte and in June she
recorded the role of Venus for Italian Radio with Maria Pedrini, Melandri and
Tagliabue. The ever faithful and adoring Verona public saw her as Santuzza at
the Arena in July and in October, she recorded La Sagredo for Italian
Radio. Lina’s mother died in 1935, and after a period of mourning, Lina
attempted a return to the stage, but her attachment to her “anchor” was so
complete that she completely collapsed. She cancelled all performances of
Nerone at Genoa in January of 1936 and no amount of persuasion from Mascagni
and others could convince her to attempt appearances. In February she felt well
enough to sing Elena at La Scala with Caniglia, Pertile and Pasero, but
following those few performances Lina disappeared for nearly six months. She
despaired of ever singing again and expressed enormous fears about her
abilities. Her colleagues were incredibly kind and encouraging, and she finally
found the strength to appear at Milan’s Giardini Pubblici in August as Santuzza
and Tosca, and with Mascagni’s continuous solicitation, appeared with him at
Livorno in late August as Santuzza. The audience, many of whom were aware of
Lina’s fragility, rewarded her with stomping, standing ovations at each of the
four performances, and, after further persuasion she debuted to tumultuous
applause in Nerone at Rome’s Teatro Reale in December. The strain of such
intense concentration was more than Lina could bear, despite her success, and
she refused to honor her commitment to debut at Naples San Carlo in the role
later in the season. Fidelia Campigna, who had replaced her in one performance
at Scala and for the whole Genoa engagement, was called to the rescue
again. Mascagni convinced Lina to sing Santuzza with him at Monte Carlo
on 1 April, but she found herself unable to sing in Nerone at Scala when it was
reprised ten days later. She was now weaving in and out of her private world,
and in June, she felt well enough to travel with Mascagni to Zurich for the
last two staged performances of Nerone ever given. On 26 June, 1937 at
the Casa del Fascio in Castel San Giovanni, Lina sang a performance of Tosca
for an invited assemblage of Fascist dignitaries (fascio meaning Fascist
headquarters, among other things). The story is told that at the conclusion of
“Vissi d’arte”, she received an enormous ovation, and, as she raised herself
from the floor, Lina reached into her cleavage and slowly revealed an Italian
flag which she held aloft with both arms outstretched. The ovation was, of
course, monumental. July and August were occupied with a tour of eight
Italian towns as Santuzza, during which she seemed to be in a trance most of
the time. Commentators referred repeatedly to the incredible intensity of her
performances and of the total passivity with which she went through her daily
routine. At Milan’s Castello Sforzesco and at Genoa’s Politeama she was hailed
as a genius when she repeated Cavalleria, and in late September she appeared
with Italian Radio as Isabeau. To this day, the story of her attempted suicide
by throwing herself into the orchestra pit during a performance of Cavalleria,
persists. And, it is always placed during 1937. Perhaps it was! After
another long absence, Lina appeared as Santuzza in the winter of 1938 at
Cremona’s Teatro Ponchielli. Lina Pagliughi attended the first performance –
“Lina Bruna Rasa! I still tremble when I think of her Santuzza”. She continued
to appear very sporadically in Cavalleria and on 1 August, before some 15000
people Mascagni presented her at Rome’s Caracalla in Isabeau with Nino Bertelli
and Granforte. It was a complete triumph and she returned five nights later for
a second performance. A few days later at the Castello Sforzesco Lina sang
Tosca with Giuseppe Lugo and Viglione-Borghese. In November she traveled to the
Netherlands in a special train compartment with Mascagni for Cavalleria
Rusticana at The Hague. The trip had been planned for months and it was
uncertain until Lina was actually on the train, that it would become an event.
The performance is preserved on recording and gives us the sense of her
enormous commitment and intensity. Antonio Melandri was her Turiddu. 1939
began with two remarkable events in Lina’s pathetically anemic career. On 1 Feb
she made her opera debut at Venice’s La Fenice as Tosca, and two weeks later
she debuted as the Puccini heroine at Naples’ Teatro San Carlo. Lina was
triumphant at Venice where she seemed in total command, but she was less
successful with the Neapolitans, despite her intuitive intensity. In September,
she returned to Bergamo for Elena with Olivero, Giovanni Malipiero and
Pasero. In 1940, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Cavalleria Rusticanas
premiere, Mascagni and Lina undertook a tour to Venice, Rome, Trieste, Genoa,
Milan’s Scala, Naples, Florence and Livorno. Among her colleagues were Gigli,
Masini, Ziliani, Bechi, Granforte and Tagliabue and every performance was sold
out weeks in advance. The famous recording with Gigli was made during their
stay in Milan and it tells us exactly what Lina was all about in this role. One
cannot help but be amazed at the conviction and integrity of her performance.
The voice has a vibrancy that is almost unbearable. She appeared with several
other conductors in a number of Italy’s provincial opera centers in celebration
of the anniversary, and at each theater she was hailed as a national heroine.
But, it was over! She continued to sing occasionally in Tosca and in Cavalleria
Rusticana until the middle of 1942, but only in very small theaters with
little-known casts. On occasion Mascagni would send a limousine to pick her up
and return her to her hotel, so uncertain was it that she would even be able to
find her way. Giovanni Breviario recalled a performance at Lecco in 1941 – “The
poor thing was already in a very bad state, but her marvelous voice came to
life as soon as she began her scenes. This miracle happened only on stage. We
were all very affectionate toward her, but when not on the stage, she was
passive, apathetic, would not speak and remained doggedly clinging to her
handbag”. In July 1942, while Lina was resting at Pesaro’s Lido, she was
persuaded to sing a performance of Cavalleria at their outdoor arena, and on
the 20th, she gave her last performance in a staged opera. The reviewer of
“LAdriatico” kindly stated that it was a vivid recollection of a great
artist. Lina was sporadically institutionalized at a home near Milan, and
by 1948, it was felt that she was well enough that she might sing some
concerts. She very much wished to return to the stage and on 27 July she sang
at Busto Arzisio. Arturo Toscanini traveled to hear his beloved Lina and left
the theater with tears streaming down his face. The tour was terminated a few
evenings later, and when Lina attempted to reengage herself in October, she was
forced from the stage in the middle of a performance. She could no longer
remember simple tunes, and words did not come at all. For the next
thirty-six years, Lina Bruna Rasa survived in solitude in a mental facility in
Milan, hardly remembered and rarely seen. As she languished in her very
private world, a few of her colleagues did remember. Augusta Oltrabella – “I
studied with Maestro Manlio Bavagnoli, the father of the conductor. Among his
pupils was Lina Bruna Rasa, the greatest Santuzza and Maddalena of them all”.
Gilda Dalla Rizza – “I took on Santuzza, but not for long. I felt I was not in
the same league in this role as Lina Bruna Rasa”. Enzo De Muro Lomanto – “The
experience of singing Turiddu with Lina Bruna Rasa was comparable to nothing
else in my long experience on the lyric stage. She made all of us want to be
just that much better, and I think we were”.
TRACKLIST
Aida (Verdi) Rivedrai le foreste, pt 1 and pt 2 with
Carlo Galeffi D18052, D18052 Columbia, Milano 1928-05-11, 12
Andrea Chénier (Giordano) La mamma morta D14716
WBX285 Columbia, Milano 1928-05-11
Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) Voi lo sapete DB2123
WBX289 Columbia, Milano 1928-05-12
Manon Lescaut (Puccini) In quelle trine morbide
D12589 WB1908 Columbia, Milano 1928-04-26
Mefistofele (Boito) Concertato, ferma ideal purissima
with Ferdinando Ciniselli and Bruno Carmassi D5329 B1021 Columbia, Milano
1926-05
Mefistofele (Boito) L’altra notte D14593 Columbia,
Milano 1928-05-12
Mefistofele (Boito) Spunta l’aurora pallida D12617
WB2002 Columbia, Milano 1928-05-18
Tosca (Puccini) Vissi d’arte D12589 WB1911 Columbia,
Milano 1928-04-26
