Considered one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century, Renata Scotto was born in Savona, Italy on February 24, 1934. Her musical journey began when she was young, singing in church as a child and then discovering opera at the age of 12 just after the end of World War II. She studied opera at the Milan Conservatory beginning at the age of 16. She won her first competition in 1952, which enabled her to make her debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan. The following year, she auditioned for a role in Catalani’s La Wally at La Scala and was immediately chosen for the role of Walter by director Victor de Sabata. She was a great success, taking 15 curtain calls on opening night in December 1953. After that, she was offered many supporting roles at La Scala but chose bigger roles at smaller regional opera houses in Italy. Renata Scotto came to international prominence in September 1957 when she replaced Maria Callas in a performance of Bellini’s La Sonnambula at the Edinburgh Festival. In the 1960s, she became a force in the belcanto revival and sing in works by Bellini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer, and others. Her fame took her from Italy to stages in Moscow and the United States. In 1965, Renata Scotto made her debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She would then perform at the Met more than 300 times, performing in 25 different roles through 1987. She also performed in many other opera houses over the course of her critically acclaimed career, performing hundreds of roles in a total of 47 different operas. A recording artist since the late 1950s, she has issued many beloved releases including Operatic Arias (1959), Gounod: Faust (1960), Une Soirée de Gala à l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo (1962), Renata Scotto Sings Verdi (1975), Serenata (1977), Verdi Arias (1984), French Arias (1988), and Italian Opera Arias (1998). There have been many compilations celebrating her artistry including La Voce e l'Arte di Renata Scotto (1969), A Portrait of Renata Scotto (1981), Great Opera Arias by Donizetti; Bellini; Mozart; Verdi & Puccini (1997), The Very Best of Renata Scotto (2003), and Art of Renata Scotto (2023). Towards the end of her performing career in the early 2000s, she turned her attention to directing operas as well as teaching at the Santa-Cecilia Academy in Rome, Italy and at the Juilliard School in New York, where her students included Renee Fleming and Anna Netrebko. In 1995, she was honored in France with the rank of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, Renata Scotto died on August 16, 2023, at the age of 89.
