THE SONGBIRD: Adelaide Negri (1943 – 2019), also written as Adelaida, described herself as a dramatic coloratura soprano. She was born in Buenos Aires and studied law as a fallback career while pursuing singing and drama at the Instituto Superior del Teatro Colón Buenos Aires. Violetta was the role of her professional debut In 1972 at La Salle, a small theater in Buenos Aires. She became a leading soprano at the Teatro Colón, debuting there in 1974 as Hanna in "The Merry Widow" and going on to sing a wide range of roles: Donna Anna and Donna Elvira, Lucia, Butterfly, Liu, Elisabetta in "Don Carlos", Leonore in "Trovatore", Amelia in "Un Ballo in maschera," and in 1986 the title role in "Beatrice di Tenda." She made guest appearances as Lucia in Vienna (1979); Elena in "Mefistofele" in Verona (1979); Norma at the Met, stepping in on short notice for Renata Scotto (1982) -- she went on to do Leonora, Lucia, Lady Macbeth, and Verdi's Elvira there; Amelia in Washington (1985); and Turandot in Hungary (1992).

THE MUSIC: Rossini's "Semiramide" is based on a Voltaire play and premiered in Venice in 1823. It was not his last opera, but was his last original opera written in Italian, as he moved to Paris after its premiere. The leading role was written for his wife, the great soprano Isabella Colbran and was his last opera for her (her voice was declining at this point). Despite wide success in the decades following its premiere and occasional diva-driven productions here or there (in Cincinnati in 1882 for Adelina Patti, at The Met in 1894 for Nellie Melba), it faded far into the background. It was produced anew at La Scala in 1962/63 as a showcase for Joan Sutherland (alongside Giulietta Simionato), and has since become a more frequently produced, though still rare, vehicle for the top tier of accomplished bel canto divas. "Bel raggio lusinghier" is sung by Semiramide, Queen of Babylon, in the famed Hanging Gardens as she waits for Arsace, the object of her affections.

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