“Italy’s La Scala opera house says soprano Daniela Dessi has died. She was 59,” reads an unsigned Monday (8/22) Associated Press report. “Last month, Dessi wrote to her fans on Facebook saying she had to cancel all her summer performances due to an undisclosed health problem. The ANSA news agency quoted her companion, Fabio Armiliato, as saying she died in Brescia after a ‘brief, terrible and incomprehensible illness.’ In a statement Saturday, La Scala said Dessi’s solid technique, strong temperament and ‘rare interpretative sensibility’ made her one of the ‘most notable figures on the international operatic scene.’ It added that her performances ‘remain among the unforgettable pages of La Scala’s history from recent decades.’ Aside from La Scala, Dessi performed in major opera houses including the Metropolitan in New York, Vienna’s Staatsoper and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin.” Fred Plotkin’s remembrance of Daniela Dessi on Monday (8/22) at New York classical radio station WQXR reports the cause of death as “a very aggressive form of cancer that claimed her quickly. She was appearing in public as recently as May. She was to sing the daunting role of Cherubini’s Medea at the Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca in July but canceled due to illness.”
Posted August 23, 2016
