ITALIAN SOPRANO AYRES BORGHI ZERNI CDR

 

AYRES BORGHI ZERNI (BUENOS AYRES, 1895 – ?)

 

The Italian soprano, whose father was the tenor Edgardo Zerni and whose nephew was the soprano Adele Borghi, had a notable career in the early 20th century. She studied singing with Bonanno and made her operatic debut in 1914 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan as Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen.

Her early career included guest appearances during the 1916-17 season at the Teatro Nazionale in Havana and performances at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo in 1918. In 1919, she sang at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and achieved significant acclaim at Covent Garden in London, particularly for her portrayal of Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata.

In 1920, she performed at the Teatro Del Casinò in Monte Carlo, where she sang Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto alongside the famous tenor Beniamino Gigli. That same year, she participated in the premiere of Raoul Gunsbourg’s opera Satan on March 20, 1920. She also made a guest appearance in Zurich during this period.

In 1922, she again excelled as Violetta, this time at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, further cementing her reputation as a skilled interpreter of Verdi’s heroines. She retired from the stage in 1928, concluding a career that encompassed a range of lyric and bel canto roles, including Rosina in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani, and Amina in Bellini’s La Sonnambula.

Her artistry was marked by her technical finesse and ability to embody both dramatic and light-hearted characters with equal success.

Chronology of some appearances

1914 Milan Teatro Dal Verme

1916 Havana Teatro Nazionale

1917 Havana Teatro Nazionale

1918 Bergamo Teatro Donizetti

1919 Palermo Teatro Massimo

1919 London Covent Garden

1920 Monte Carlo Teatro Del Casinò

1922 Rome Teatro Costanzi

TRACKLIST

 

Gramophone, Milano 1916

Complete Rigoletto (Verdi) with Ayres Borghi-Zerni, Carlo Broccardi, Giuseppe Danise, Vincenzo Bettoni, Nelda Garrone, Giuseppe Sala and Napoleone Limonta, Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan, conductor Carlo Sabajno