{{Short description|Canadian opera singer (1939–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}}
'''Maria Pellegrini''' (15 July 1939 – 28 December 2025) was a Canadian operatic soprano of Italian birth who had an active international career from the 1960s. She was particularly associated with the operas of Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi. In 1965 she became a naturalized Canadian citizen.
==Life and career== Born in Pretoro, Italy on 15 July 1939, Pellegrini emigrated with her family to Canada in 1958, at the age of 19. In 1960 she entered The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) in Toronto where she studied voice for the next four years with {{interlanguage link|Ernesto Vinci|fi|qid=}}. She later pursued further vocal studies in London with Joe Macko.<ref name="CE">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/maria-pellegrini-emc/|title=Maria Pellegrini|date=14 March 2010|author=Harvey Chusid|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref>
Pellegrini made her professional opera debut in 1963 as the High Priestess in Verdi's ''Aida'' with the Canadian Opera Company. She was heard there the following year as Annina in ''La traviata'' and again in 1965 as Gilda in ''Rigoletto''.<ref name="CE"/> She returned several more times to the COC through the late 1980s, portraying such roles as Aida, Cio-Cio-San in ''Madama Butterfly'', Nedda in ''I Pagliacci'', and Violetta in ''La traviata'' among others.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xvSRhvGB6r8C&q=%22Maria+Pellegrini%22&pg=PA254|title=Opera Viva: The Canadian Opera Company The First Fifty Years|author=Ezra Schabas|publisher=Dundum Press|year= 2000|isbn=9781770700970}}</ref>
In 1965 Pellegrini won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, but never was engaged to sing a role at the Met.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm|title=Maria Pellegrini|work=Metropolitan Opera Archives}}</ref> In 1968 she made her debut at The Royal Opera, London as Gilda and in 1969 she made her first appearance with the Sadler's Wells Opera as Cio-Cio-San.<ref name="CE"/> She also performed and recorded the role of Musetta in ''La bohème'' with the Royal Opera, London in 1969.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/04/27/90096519.pdf|title=Recordings: Operas Halfway Down the Unbeaten Track|author=Robert T. Jones|work=The New York Times|date=27 April 1969}}</ref>
In 1977 Pellegrini portrayed Cio-Cio-San on a nationally broadcast production of ''Madama Butterfly'' for CBC Television with conductor Jean Deslauriers. Others in the cast included Pierre Duval, Bernard Turgeon, and Judith Forst. In 1980 she made her debut at the Opera Lyra Ottawa as Mimi in ''La bohème ''. Other Canadian opera companies she has performed leading roles with include Calgary Opera, Edmonton Opera, Manitoba Opera, Opera Hamilton, and Vancouver Opera.<ref name="CE"/>
In 1982 Pellegrini made her debut with the New York City Opera as Cio-Cio-San under conductor David Effron.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/28/arts/opera-maria-pellegrini.html|title=Opera:Maria Pellegrini|date=28 March 1982|work=The New York Times|author=Bernard Holland|author-link=Bernard Holland}}</ref> Other American companies she has sung leading roles with during her career are the Connecticut Opera, the Florida Grand Opera, the New Orleans Opera, the New Jersey State Opera, and the Pittsburgh Opera.<ref name="CE"/>
On the international stage, Pellegrini's performances included appearances with the Teatro Carlo Felice, the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi, the Teatro Nacional (Santo Domingo), Teatro Massimo Bellini, the Teatro Regio (Parma), and Santo Domingo, and the Welsh National Opera.<ref name="CE"/>
Pellegrini died on 28 December 2025, at the age of 86.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anna "Maria" Pellegrini |url=https://www.arbormemorial.ca/en/capital/obituaries/anna-maria-pellegrini/153285.html |access-date=11 January 2026 |website=Arbor Memorial}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Payne |first1=Elizabeth |title=Remembering Maria Pellegrini, the opera diva next door |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/remembering-maria-pellegrini |access-date=10 January 2026 |publisher=Ottawa Citizen |date=9 January 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellegrini, Maria}} Category:1939 births Category:2025 deaths Category:Canadian operatic sopranos Category:The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Category:Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Category:People from the Province of Chieti Category:Italian emigrants to Canada Category:20th-century Canadian women opera singers