# Ines Maria Ferraris

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{{short description|Italian opera singer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}}

{{Infobox musical artist
| name    = Ines Maria Ferraris
| caption = Ines Maria Ferraris photographed in Milan, 1912
| image   = Ines Maria Ferraris in 1912.jpg
}}
'''Ines Maria Ferraris''' (also '''Ina Maria Ferraris'''; 6 May 1882, in [Turin](/source/Turin) – 11 December 1971, in [Milan](/source/Milan)) was an [Italian](/source/Italian_people) [opera](/source/opera)tic [soprano](/source/soprano) and [pianist](/source/pianist) who sang for more than two decades at [La Scala](/source/La_Scala) in addition to appearances on the international stage. Although popular in Italy, she had a particularly devoted fanbase throughout South America. A [light lyric soprano](/source/light_lyric_soprano) with a pure and agile voice, Ferraris sang a wide repertoire that encompassed the [verismo](/source/verismo) operas of [Puccini](/source/Puccini), the Italian [grand opera](/source/grand_opera) of [Verdi](/source/Verdi), and the [German operas](/source/Opera_in_German) of [Richard Strauss](/source/Richard_Strauss). She is particularly remembered for playing Lisette in the world première of Puccini's ''[La rondine](/source/La_rondine)'' in 1917.<ref name="Grove">[J.B. Steane](/source/J.B._Steane): "Ina Maria Ferraris", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed November 17, 2008), [http://www.grovemusic.com (subscription access)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=2008-05-16 }}</ref>

==Career==
Ferraris was a [child prodigy](/source/child_prodigy) and began her career as a professional concert pianist at the young age of 12 after studying piano with Antonio Quartero.<ref name="Riemens">{{cite book 
|title= A concise biographical dictionary of singers; from the beginning of recorded sound to the present
|url= https://archive.org/details/concisebiographi00kuts
|url-access= registration
|last= Riemens 
|first= Leo
|author-link = Leo Riemens
|year= 1969
|publisher= [Chilton Book Co](/source/Chilton_Book_Co)
}}</ref> She later became interested in opera and began studying singing with [Vittorio Vanzo](/source/Vittorio_Vanzo) in Milan. She gave her first professional performance as a vocalist in a concert in London in 1906. She made her professional operatic début two years later in Bologna as Philine in ''[Mignon](/source/Mignon)''.<ref name="Grove"/>

In 1911, Ferraris debuted at [La Scala](/source/La_Scala) as Carolina in Cimarosa's ''[Il matrimonio segreto](/source/Il_matrimonio_segreto)''. That same year, she sang Sophie at La Scala in Italy's first production of ''[Der Rosenkavalier](/source/Der_Rosenkavalier)'', a role she later reprised at the [Teatro Costanzi](/source/Teatro_Costanzi) in Rome in 1914.<ref name="operissimo">{{Cite web |url=http://hosting.triboni.com/triboni/exec?method=com.operissimo.artist.webDisplay&id=ffcyoieagxaaaaabpyve&xsl=webDisplay&searchStr=Ines%20Maria%20Ferraris |title=Ines Maria Ferraris biography from Operissimo.com (In German) |access-date=2008-11-25 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210049/http://hosting.triboni.com/triboni/exec?method=com.operissimo.artist.webDisplay&id=ffcyoieagxaaaaabpyve&xsl=webDisplay&searchStr=Ines%20Maria%20Ferraris |url-status=dead }}</ref> She remained at La Scala for over 20 years, singing numerous roles mostly from the [lighter lyric](/source/Lyric_soprano) and [soubrette](/source/soubrette) repertoire. She became a favorite of [Arturo Toscanini](/source/Arturo_Toscanini) under whom she sang numerous parts at La Scala including Violetta in Verdi's ''[La traviata](/source/La_traviata)'' and Nannetta in Verdi's ''[Falstaff](/source/Falstaff_(opera))''.<ref name="Grove"/> She was also a close friend of [Conchita Supervia](/source/Conchita_Supervia), with whom she performed many roles, including the role of Gretel opposite Supervia's Hänsel in ''[Hänsel und Gretel](/source/H%C3%A4nsel_und_Gretel_(opera))''. During this time, she also frequently performed throughout Italy and in South America, where she gained a big following. She notably sang the title role in South America's premiere of [Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari](/source/Ermanno_Wolf-Ferrari)'s ''[Il segreto di Susanna](/source/Il_segreto_di_Susanna)'' at the [Teatro Colón](/source/Teatro_Col%C3%B3n) in [Buenos Aires](/source/Buenos_Aires). Her other roles in that house include Oscar in ''[Un ballo in maschera](/source/Un_ballo_in_maschera)'', the title role in [Catalani](/source/Catalani)'s ''[La Wally](/source/La_Wally)'', and Hélène in ''[Une éducation manquée](/source/Une_%C3%A9ducation_manqu%C3%A9e)'', among others.<ref name="Riemens"/>

In 1916, Ferraris sang the role of Violetta at the [Teatro Massimo Palermo](/source/Teatro_Massimo_Palermo). The following year she created the role of Lisette in the world première of [Puccini](/source/Puccini)'s ''[La rondine](/source/La_rondine)'' at the [Opéra de Monte-Carlo](/source/Op%C3%A9ra_de_Monte-Carlo). She also made several appearances at the [Teatro di San Carlo](/source/Teatro_di_San_Carlo) in 1920-1921 and 1924, including the role of Gilda in ''[Rigoletto](/source/Rigoletto)''. Ferraris retired from the stage in 1934, after which she taught singing for many years at numerous conservatories including the [Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello](/source/Conservatorio_di_Musica_Benedetto_Marcello) in [Venice](/source/Venice), the [Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini](/source/Conservatorio_Giovanni_Battista_Martini) in [Bologna](/source/Bologna), the [Accademia Musicale Chigiana](/source/Accademia_Musicale_Chigiana) in [Siena](/source/Siena), and lastly at the [Milan Conservatory](/source/Milan_Conservatory).<ref name="Riemens"/>

Her remains are at the Riparto 202 of the [Cimitero Maggiore di Milano](/source/Cimitero_Maggiore_di_Milano), inside the niche number 96.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Grave locator app "Not 2 4get"|last=Comune di Milano}}</ref>

==Recordings==
Ferraris was among the first generation of musicians to be recorded. Most notably, she can be heard on highlight recordings of ''[Der Rosenkavalier](/source/Der_Rosenkavalier)'' as Sophie and ''[Hansel and Gretel](/source/Hansel_and_Gretel_(opera))'' as Gretel with Conchita Supervia, mementoes of their association in both operas at La Scala. She also recorded the role of Gilda in the first complete recording of ''Rigoletto'' in 1916 with [Cesare Formichi](/source/Cesare_Formichi) in the title role.<ref name="Riemens"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferraris, Ines Maria}}
Category:Academic staff of the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini
Category:Italian operatic sopranos
Category:1882 births
Category:1971 deaths
Category:Singers from Turin
Category:20th-century Italian women opera singers
Category:20th-century Italian pianists
Category:20th-century Italian women pianists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ines Maria Ferraris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ines_Maria_Ferraris) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ines_Maria_Ferraris?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.