ROME, Feb 10, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – One of the great stars of Italian opera
Mirella Freni, who as an infant shared a wet nurse with Luciano Pavarotti,
died Sunday at the age of 84 following a long illness, media reports said.
Born in 1935 in the northern town of Modena, Freni was a childhood friend
of tenor Pavarotti and was also his partner on stage.
As infants they were looked after by the same woman as their mothers
worked at the same tobacco factory and were unable to breastfeed them.
In a career that spanned five decades, Freni particularly shone in Italian
opera and was famed for her roles as Mimi in Puccini’s “La Boheme” and
Desdemona in Verdi’s “Otello”.
She was also a favourite of legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan.
Aside from her live performances, Freni also starred with Placido Domingo
in the 1975 film “Madama Butterfly” with von Karajan acting as musical
director.
The announcement of her death sparked an outpouring of tributes from the
music world and opera fans.
“Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra family join the music
world in mourning the loss of legendary soprano Mirella Freni,” Chicago
Symphony Orchestra said on Twitter.
“RIP Mirella Freni … one of the greatest sopranos of all time,” French
baritone David Serero tweeted.
Freni in 1978 married for a second time to Bulgarian bass singer Nicolai
Ghiaurov, who motivated her to launch into the Russian repertoire.
She bade farewell to the stage at the Washington National Opera in 2005 in
“The Maid of Orleans”, playing the young girl’s role at the age of 70.