Gina Cigna et Cloe Elmo La Gioconda L'amo come il fulgor del creato cetra BB 25029

Gina Cigna et Cloe Elmo -La Gioconda - L'amo come il fulgor del creato - cetra BB 25029
Gina Cigna (6 March 1900 – 20 June 2001) was a French-Italian dramatic soprano.
Cigna was born in Paris to parents of Italian origin. She trained as a pianist at the Paris Conservatory studying with Alfred Cortot and graduated with a gold medal. She then started a career as a recitalist. She met French tenor Maurice Sens, whom she married in 1923, and following his advice turned to singing. She took private lessons with Emma Calvé, Hariclea Darclée and Rosina Storchio, but was mostly self-taught. She made her debut as Ginette Sens in 1927 at the Teatro alla Scala, in Milan, as Freia in Das Rheingold, without much success.
Two years later, still at La Scala, but this time under the name Gina Cigna, she sang the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and this time it was a triumph. A few weeks later she appeared as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser. She was to sing regularly at La Scala until 1945, quickly establishing herself as one of the leading Italian dramatic soprano alongside Maria Caniglia in operas such as Il Trovatore, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Aida, Andrea Chénier, and Tosca.
She recorded Norma in 1937 and Turandot, opposite Francesco Merli, with Magda Olivero as Liù, in 1938, both for Cetra Records. She sang at the Paris Opéra, the Royal Opera House in London, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, and the New York Metropolitan Opera, where she made her debut on 6 February 1937 as Aida.
Cigna's career came to a halt in 1948 when she was involved in a serious car accident and suffered a heart attack. Forced to retire from singing, she turned to teaching. In 1996 at the age of 96 she appeared in Jan Schmidt-Garre's film Opera Fanatic.
Cigna died in Milan, Italy, on 20 June 2001, aged 101
Source Wikipedia
Cloë Elmo (April 9, 1910 – May 24, 1962) was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.
She was born in Lecce and began singing at an early age. By the age of seventeen, she had begun her studies at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Edwige Chibaudo, and later with Rinolfi and Pedreni. Due to her wide vocal range, she was initially thought to be a soprano.
She made her debut in Cagliari as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana in 1934. Within a year, she joined the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff. Soon she was given the part of Azucena in Il trovatore, which quickly became her signature role and was her debut role at the Metropolitan Opera in 1947. Other roles there included Santuzza, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Mrs Quickly in Falstaff—the latter she recorded in 1950, opposite Giuseppe Valdengo—and Herva Nelli, with Arturo Toscanini conducting.
She sang Wagnerian roles in Italian, as was the custom during this time period, including Brangaene at La Scala to the Isolde of Giuseppina Cobelli. She made a notable recording (singing in Italian) of Brangaene's watch from Act 2. She also made recordings (also in Italian) of lieder by Brahms and Strauss.
She returned to Italy, and sang at La Scala until 1954 when she abandoned her stage career. She accepted a teaching position in Ankara, where she remained until her death in 1962.
She was known for her warm and natural voice, with its ample lower-register and full high-notes, as well as for her great temperament and passion.
Source : Wikipedia