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Singer (1871?1950)
Giuseppina Huguet
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Born
| 1871
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Died
| 1951
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Nationality
| Spanish
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Occupation
| soprano
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Giuseppina Huguet
(22 September 1871?1951) was a Catalan operatic
soprano
with a lyrical voice who sang throughout Europe prior to
World War I
.
[1]
[2]
Huguet was born in 1871 in Barcelona and registered on official documents as "Josefina" Huguet. Her first music teacher was Francisco Bonet in Barcelona, where she soon made her operatic debut as Lakme at the Teatro Liceu of Barcelona. She subsequently toured several countries, including some South American nations. She performed, too, with success in Italy, appearing for the first time at Milan's
La Scala
in 1896, where she sang the role of Ophelie in
Ambroise Thomas
's
Hamlet
. Huguet proved popular in Russia as well.
Although Huguet often sang
coloratura
parts, such as Rosina in
Rossini
's
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
, she also undertook the
verismo
roles of Mimi in
Puccini
's
La Boheme
and Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's
Madama Butterfly
, and her recordings even include excerpts from Wagner's
Lohengrin
(on which she is accompanied by the famous tenor
Fernando De Lucia
). Indeed, her complete repertoire contained a wide range of roles: from The Queen of Night in
Mozart
's
The Magic Flute
to Nedda in
Leoncavallo
's
Pagliacci
.
Huguet's career as a recording artist was not particularly extensive. Her discography consists mainly of arias and ensemble pieces from opera that were recorded by the
Gramophone Company
, forerunner of
EMI
. She also sang the role of Nedda in the first complete recording of
Pagliacci
in 1907 (with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala di Milano,
Carlo Sabajno
conducting). Volume One of
The Record of Singing
by
Michael Scott
(Duckworth, London, 1977) contains a synopsis of her career and an appraisal of her records, some of which are available on
CD
transfers.
Along with
Rafael Bezares
, Huguet was among a small number of Spanish opera singers to be recorded, as the
Compagnie Francaise du Gramophone
were more focused on native genres, such as
zarzuela
and
flamenco
.
[1]
17 commercial
wax cylinder
of her voice survive; she also recorded 23 cylinders privately for the industrialist
Ruperto Regordosa
. Huguet's coloratura soprano and high register were advantageous to her recording, as these voice types recorded particularly well on wax cylinders.
[1]
References
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External links
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