Lina Pagliughi was born in New York on May 27 1907 as daughter of Italian immigrants. Her mother was from Albareto (near Parma), while her father was born in Montevideo in Uruguay but his family was originally from Genoa. At the age of 2, she moved with her family to San Francisco, where there was a big Italian community that often organised musical events. Lina Pagliughi started taking part in these events as a young singer at the age of 8, with great success. For example she sang during a charity event to raise funds in order to build an Italian hospital. During school, the young Lina performed during concerts, accompanied by her sister Flora at the piano, attracting the attention of local journalists. Among others, those from the newspaper “Italia” described her as an “infant prodigy”. The innate gift she had was the ability to perform a song she had only heard once, without missing a single note. As a consequence, she dedicated herself to the study of music and this introduced her to the world of the Opera, that was supposed to be hers. Inspite of her parents’ fondness for the theatre and light opera, they were reluctant to send her to a singing school. Fortunately she met two famous opera singers, Beniamino Gigli and Luisa Tetrazzini, the latter declaring Lina to be “ her successor”. They both recognized her exceptional qualities and foresaw a brilliant future for her. Lina graduated at the Conservatory of San Francisco, and in 1926, to complete her studies, she moved to Italy with her mother. Here she gave recital in various theatres, receiving the approval of both the public and musical critics.
During her first years in Milan, at the theatre “Dal Verme” Lina met the tenor Primo Montanari, who was born in Gatteo, while performing with other young singers. Montanari was immediately struck by the voice quality and personality of the young soprano. It was love at first sight between them, and on May 23rd, 1929 they got married. In 1930 Lina Pagliughi made her operatic debut at Theatre “La Scala” in Milan as Gilda in “Rigoletto”, which was a triumph. At this point, the couple began a tour performing at all the major Opera houses in the world, including the Colon in Buenos Aires and Covent Garden in London. Their various engagements took them from Europe to America and even to Australia. Lina’s exceptional talent enabled her to interpret roles in both dramatic and comic operas, including Gilda in “Rigoletto” (G.Verdi), Lucia in “Lucia di Lamermoor” (G. Donizzetti), Mimì in “Bohème” (G. Puccini), Violetta in “La Traviata” (G. Verdi), Amina in “La Sonnanbula” (V. Bellini), and Rosina in “Barbiere di Siviglia” (G. Rossini).
Although she lived in Milan, Lina began to spend her summer holidays in Gatteo, where her husband owned a house. Lina immediately fell in love with the Romagna, becoming a real “romagnola” and even learned the local dialect.
In 1940 Primo and Lina bought a house in Gatteo Mare, the resort, where they spent the summer months. They named it “Villa Lina”. The violence of the Second World War made the couple moved to Monteleone, on the hills near Cesena, as it was a safer location. During the war, Lina volunteered to make use of her talents by singing for the Army and working as an interpreter. She also gave a concert in the refectory of the “Istituto Fanciulli Poveri” in Gatteo, in front of German officers and soldiers who were at the hospital in Cesenatico, which at that time was used as a military hospital. Hearing her singing gave people so much pleasure that they could momentarily forget their worries, and all her performances concluded with tumultuous applauses.
With the arrival of the Allies, Lina and her husband were able to sing again in opera houses throughout the world. In the fifties, after retiring from the stage, Lina devoted herself to radio and gramophone recordings for the RAI broadcasting service in Turin, including “I concerti della Martini e Rossi”.
At the end of the Sixties the two singers moved definitively to Gatteo Mare, devoting themselves completely to voice teaching, leading many of their pupils to success, among these were also Jean Bennet and Ornello Giorgetti. During their years in Gatteo Mare, Primo and Lina gave various recitals, performing a memorable “Andrea Chenier” (U. Giordano) on the beach, to the joy and delight of their friends and the many tourists who were so privileged to be present at such an unforgettable event. On February, 16th 1972, the man with whom Lina had joyfully shared all her artistic and sentimental life, Primo Montanari, died at the hospital of Cesenatico. Lina continued teaching until the appearance of a disease, that resulted in her death. She felt ill in August 1980 and died during the night between 2 and 3 October. Her remains rest in the little cemetery in Gatteo, in a family tomb which also houses her husband Primo, (13/12/1809 – 16/02/1972) and her sister Flora, (15/11/1908 – 22/11/1998).
In 1983, in Gatteo Mare, the “Siola d’Oro” association, was established in order to honour and keep alive the memory of this great character, and ceased it’s activity in 2016, It organised various events, the most important of which was the “Premio Internazionale della Lirica” (International Opera Prize).
Discography:
– 1928: ‘RIGOLETTO’ by G. Verdi;
– 1942: ‘LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR’ by G. Donizetti;
– 1946: ‘FALSTAFF’ by G. Verdi;
– 1950: ‘LA FIGLIA DEL REGGIMENTO’ by G. Donizetti;
– 1950: ‘PARSIFAL’ by R. Wagner (in Italian);
– 1951: ‘UN GIORNO DI REGNO’ by G. Verdi;
– 1952: ‘LA SONNAMBULA’ by V. Bellini;
– 1953: ‘RIGOLETTO’ by G. Verdi;
– 1953: ‘I PURITANI’ by V. Bellini;
– 1953: ‘LA TRAVIATA’ by G. Verdi.
