Tecla Vigna
{{short description|Italian-American opera singer}}
Tecla Vigna (died April 1927) was an Italian opera singer and educator based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
{{Infobox person
| name = Tecla Vigna
| image = TeclaVigna1907MusCour.tif
| alt =
| caption = Tecla Vigna, from a 1907 publication
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Savigliano, Piedmont, Italy
| death_date = April 1927
| death_place = Milan, Italy
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Opera singer, educator
| years_active = 1882-1925
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| education = Milan Conservatory
}}
Early life
Tecla Vigna was born at Savigliano in northern Italy, and studied music at the Conservatory of Milan, where she earned her diploma in 1879.J. S. V., [https://books.google.com/books?id=2ixMAQAAMAAJ&dq=Tecla+Vigna&pg=RA1-PA88 "Tecla Vigna, Singer and Teacher"] Musical Courier (May 27, 1908): 16. She trained with voice teacher Francesco Lamperti.[https://books.google.com/books?id=tuo6AQAAMAAJ&q=Tecla+Vigna+&pg=RA24-PA28 "Tecla Vigna, a Producer of Artists"] Musical Courier (June 27, 1916): 28.
Career
Vigna, a contralto, performed roles in opera in several Italy cities[http://www.lavoceantica.it/Mezzosoprano/Vigna%20Tecla.htm Tecla Vigna listing], La Voce Antica. before being recruited by pianist Albino Gorno to the faculty of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1882.[https://books.google.com/books?id=M8VEAQAAMAAJ&dq=Tecla+Vigna&pg=PA88 "Signorina Tecla Vigna"] Music (May 1892): 88. Vigna wrote a text, 90 Daily Vocal Exercises (1894), published while she was teaching at the conservatory. After years of contentious disagreements with the school's administration,[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20193463/tecla_vigna_1897/ "Miss Vigna to Fight Van der Stucken"] Cincinnati Enquirer (February 10, 1897): 5. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} she resigned from the college in 1906,[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20192206/tecla_vigna_1906/ "Promise Not Kept"] Cincinnati Enquirer (April 5, 1906): 12. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} and soon she was teaching at her own school.[https://books.google.com/books?id=2ixMAQAAMAAJ&dq=Tecla+Vigna&pg=RA1-PA88 "Cincinnati"] Musical Courier (June 10, 1908): 24.[https://books.google.com/books?id=tuo6AQAAMAAJ&dq=Tecla+Vigna+1916&pg=RA13-PA65 "Tecla Vigna, Distinguished Vocal Instructor, and her Pupils"] Musical Courier (April 27, 1916): 65. Her vocal method was described as "distinctly Italian, and distinctly modern, and dramatic in the very best sense of the term." Her students gave well-reviewed recitals and were active in the Euterpe Society of Cincinnati.[https://books.google.com/books?id=tuo6AQAAMAAJ&dq=Tecla+Vigna+1916&pg=RA10-PA44 "Tecla Vigna's Pupils Win High Praise"] Musical Courier (March 16, 1916): 44.
Personal life
Vigna became an American citizen in 1920.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZO86AQAAMAAJ&dq=Tecla+Vigna&pg=RA10-PA54 "Tecla Vigna to Become a Citizen"] Music Magazine (December 23, 1920): 54. In ill health, she closed her school and retired in 1925,[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20190727/tecla_vigna_1925/ "Tecla Vigna Ends Labors; Taught Many Noted Singers"] Cincinnati Enquirer (June 21, 1925): 62. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}Carl B. Adams, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20192056/tecla_vigna_1925/ "Tecla Vigna's Farewell"] Cincinnati Enquirer (June 26, 1925): 7. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} and moved back to Milan, where she died in 1927.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20191556/tecla_vigna_1927/ "Tecla Vigna Dies"] Cincinnati Enquirer (April 22, 1927): 10. via Newspapers.com{{open access}} In 1932, one of her American students visited her grave in Milan, and left a bouquet of gardenias in tribute.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20196353/tecla_vigna_1935/ "The Girl About Town"] Indianapolis Star (January 20, 1935): 21. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigna, Tecla}}
Category:Singers from Cincinnati
Category:Italian operatic contraltos
Category:Milan Conservatory alumni
Category:People from Savigliano
Category:Italian emigrants to the United States
Category:19th-century Italian women opera singers
Category:University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music faculty