Mirella Freni was born in 1935 in Modena, Italy, and first studied singing with her uncle before further training with Luigi Bertazzoni and Ettore Campogalliani. She made her operatic debut in 1955 as Micaëla in Carmen, and her international breakthrough came at the 1960 Glyndebourne Festival in Mozart roles. Over a five-decade career she appeared at La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Royal Opera House.

Freni was one of the most celebrated sopranos of the 20th century, especially renowned for her Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème, and was called a “matchless Italian prima donna” by The New York Times. She received Italy’s Order of Merit, France’s Legion of Honour, and multiple honorary distinctions, and later co-founded the Centro Universale del Bel Canto with her husband, bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, to train young singers. She died in 2020.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirella_Freni