Opera Singer. A lyric soprano best known as the daughter of the legendary tenor Beniamino Gigli, she had a quite significant career in her own right. Raised within the operatic milieu under conditions of wealth and privilege, she manifested a talent for the piano early-on and as a young girl accompanied her father in his recitals, even playing Carnegie Hall at around 12. Rina gave her first public voice recital on February 7, 1936, and following study with acclaimed soprano Rosina Storchio made her May 23, 1943, operatic bow at the Teatro Regio di Parma as Violetta from Verdi's "La Traviata" opposite her father as her lover Alfredo. Based primarily at the Rome Opera, she appeared in other major venues on both sides of the Atlantic including the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, La Scala Milano, Opera Madrid, and London's Covent Garden, her repertoire including Lauretta from Puccini's comedic masterpiece "Gianni Schicchi", the title lead of Jules Massenet's "Manon", Nedda from Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci", Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme", Micaela of Georges Bizet's "Carmen", the doomed Geisha Cio-Cio-San from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly", Adina in Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore", and the tragic Desdemona of Verdi's "Otello", as well as the soprano part in Verdi's Manzoni "Requiem". Rina continued performing until 1971 when she gave her final performance at Naples' Teatro San Carlo as Nedda. Awarded the Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1988, she lived out her days in her ancestral home of Recanati and was buried beside her illustrious father. Her art is preserved on a number of 'live' and studio recordings.
Opera Singer. A lyric soprano best known as the daughter of the legendary tenor Beniamino Gigli, she had a quite significant career in her own right. Raised within the operatic milieu under conditions of wealth and privilege, she manifested a talent for the piano early-on and as a young girl accompanied her father in his recitals, even playing Carnegie Hall at around 12. Rina gave her first public voice recital on February 7, 1936, and following study with acclaimed soprano Rosina Storchio made her May 23, 1943, operatic bow at the Teatro Regio di Parma as Violetta from Verdi's "La Traviata" opposite her father as her lover Alfredo. Based primarily at the Rome Opera, she appeared in other major venues on both sides of the Atlantic including the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, La Scala Milano, Opera Madrid, and London's Covent Garden, her repertoire including Lauretta from Puccini's comedic masterpiece "Gianni Schicchi", the title lead of Jules Massenet's "Manon", Nedda from Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci", Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme", Micaela of Georges Bizet's "Carmen", the doomed Geisha Cio-Cio-San from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly", Adina in Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore", and the tragic Desdemona of Verdi's "Otello", as well as the soprano part in Verdi's Manzoni "Requiem". Rina continued performing until 1971 when she gave her final performance at Naples' Teatro San Carlo as Nedda. Awarded the Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1988, she lived out her days in her ancestral home of Recanati and was buried beside her illustrious father. Her art is preserved on a number of 'live' and studio recordings.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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