Italia Vasquez, soprano

The real family surname of this forgotten soprano was Ucelli. She appeared later also under the name Italia Vasquez-Molina. First She studied piano, then singing under Alfonso Dami in Geneva. In the 1889-90 season she excited in Budapest sensation, where she gave very successful concerts. She was engaged by the Budapest State Opera. In 1893 she created the role of Nedda in the Hungarian premiere of Leoncavallo’s ‘’Pagliacci’’. She soon counted as one of the leading singers of the Budapest State Opera and had there a long career. In 1901 she sang in the Budapest premiere of Wagner’s ‘’Tristan und Isolde’’. In 1900 she made guest appearance at the Kroll Theatre in Berlin. In 1902 she performed at the Vienna State Opera in Verdi’s ‘’Aida’’. In 1904 Vasquez sang at the Munich Court Opera as Donna Anna in Mozart’s ‘’Don Giovanni’’. In 1917 she became a life member of the Budapest State Opera. After retiring from the stage she taught singing in Budapest