Opera Icon Renata Scotto Dead at 89

Renata Scotto, a soprano who became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the 20th century, has died in Savona, Italy, at age 89.

The news was confirmed to The Washington Post by Robert Lombardo, head of Scotto's New York-based management company.

No further details were provided.

Born on Feb. 24, 1934, in Savona, a fishing port on Italy's Ligurian coast, Scotto was the daughter of a police officer and a seamstress.

Long before establishing her career, as a young girl, Scotto would hold concerts in Italy by singing to her neighbors from her apartment window during World War II.

She gained widespread attention in 1957, at age 23, when she stood in for Maria Callas, the Greek American soprano who became an international superstar in the 1950s and 1960s, during a production of Bellini's "La Sonnambula" at the Edinburgh festival in Scotland.

In the years that followed, Scotto's career flourished.

By 1965, she had made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cio-Cio-San, the titular role in Puccini's "Madame Butterfly." She garnered support from conductor James Levine and, in the subsequent decade, established herself as the unofficial leading soprano at the Met.

In 1977, Scotto starred as Mimì alongside Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo in the performance of "La Bohème," which marked the start of the "Live From the Met" broadcasts.

Over a span of two decades, she would grace the Met's stage more than 300 times, frequently collaborating with renowned tenors like Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Pavarotti.

Scotto's repertoire featured many iconic soprano roles in Italian opera

She portrayed Lucia and Adina in Donizetti's works, while also embodying Violetta and Gilda in Verdi's operas. She was known for Puccini's "Madame Butterfly," as well as "Musetta," "Mimì," and "Manon."

In all, Scotto sang 120 roles. She concluded her Met career just as she had started it, portraying Cio-Cio-San, with her last performance taking place in 1987. By that point, she had also started exploring stage direction.

In addition to her global opera house directing, Scotto ran opera academies in Italy and New York. She also coached renowned singers like Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, and Deborah Voigt over the years, as reported by The New York Times.

In 1960, Scotto married Lorenzo Anselmi, previously the first violinist in La Scala's orchestra, who later became her manager and coach. He died in 2021. Together, they raised their children, Laura and Filippo, primarily in New York.

• Tom Jones, Creator of 'The Fantasticks,' Dead at 95
• Legendary Singer-Songwriter Rodriguez Dead at 81