Giuditta Pasta correspondence

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id: 11182
origination: Pasta, Giuditta Maria Costanza, 1797-1865
date statement: 1816-1864, undated
key date: 1816
identifier (local_mss): 181275
org unit: Music Division
call number: JOB 16-01
b-number: (missing)
total components: 633
total series: 0
max depth: 2
boost queries: (none)
component layout: Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields: false
Extended Navigation: false
created: 2020-07-08 01:00:15 UTC
updated: 2026-08-14 02:06:05 UTC
status note: (missing)
Display Aeon link: true

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unitid: {"value"=>"181275", "type"=>"local_mss"}

{"value"=>"JOB 16-01", "type"=>"local_call"}
unitdate: {"value"=>"1816-1864", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1816/1864"}

{"value"=>"undated", "type"=>"inclusive"}
unittitle: {"value"=>"Giuditta Pasta correspondence"}
physdesc: {"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"15 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"3.14 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
repository: {"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Music Division</span>"}
langmaterial: {"value"=>"English"}

{"value"=>"Italian, French, English"}
origination: {"value"=>"Pasta, Giuditta Maria Costanza, 1797-1865", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist: {"value"=>"<p>Giuditta Maria Costanza Negri was born on October 28, 1797 in Saronno, Italy, a small town between Milan and Como. Her father was a pharmacist. In 1809, she began studying singing in Como with the maestro di cappella of the Como cathedral. After two years, she moved to Milan with her aunt and uncle, Rosalinde and Filippo Ferranti, where she studied with Giuseppe Scappa and Bonifazio Asioli, both composers as well as teachers. Pasta made her operatic debut in 1815 in Brescia, Italy. In 1816, she married tenor Giuseppe Pasta (called \"Peppino\" in correspondence with Giuditta). They traveled to Paris with her mother, Rachele Negri, intending to sing together at the Théâtre Italien. When Giuseppe's voice gave out, he became her manager.</p> <p>Pasta's early performances in Paris and in London the following year were unsuccessful; her voice was considered inadequately trained and her acting was similarly criticized. In late 1817 the Pastas returned home, and in 1818 their daughter Clelia was born in Milan. Pasta resumed her career several months later. She continued her studies with Scappa and performed in smaller houses, mostly in Italy.</p> <p>Early in her operatic career she premiered operas by her teachers Scappa and Asioli. In 1820, she premiered Giuseppe Nicolini's opera <span class=\"title\">La conquista di Granata</span> at La Fenice in Venice. In 1822, Pasta performed again in Paris, this time receiving an enthusiastic response, particularly for her emotive performance style. Her successes continued, and by the mid-1820s she was among the most famous singers in Europe. She performed in operas by many composers, and particlarly by Rossini, who may have written a role in <span class=\"title\">Viaggio in Rheims</span> for her. She performed in the opera seria genre, including both soprano and contralto roles, and both male and female characters. In 1830 Donizetti wrote <span class=\"title\">Anna Bolena</span> for her, and in 1831 Bellini wrote both Norma and La Sonambula for her. Pasta made her debut at La Scala in 1831, in the premiere of Bellini's <span class=\"title\">Norma</span>. For the next five years, she sang all over Europe as a prima donna, eventually returning to La Scala in 1834. However, beginning in 1835, Pasta's voice began to decline. She began to sing fewer operatic roles and more concerts, doing a recital tour in 1840-41 of Eastern Europe, singing in Berlin, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Warsaw.</p> <p>In 1844, Pasta retired from singing altogether. She and her husband moved back to their home in Como. In 1847, her husband passed away and she moved to a smaller home. She spent her remaining years between Como, Milan, and in visiting her daughter's family in Genoa. She died suddenly from a viral infection in the town of Blevio on April 1, 1865.</p>"}
scopecontent: {"value"=>"<p>The collection includes letters from many composers, some of whom wrote roles for her, including from Vincenzo Bellini. Also includes letters and poems from acquaintances, as well as various ephemera such as receipts and ticket stubs.</p>", "supress_display"=>true}
arrangement: {"value"=>"<p>The collection is in a single series consisting of letters, notes, poems, and legal documents. They are arranged alphabetically by sender. Legal documents are under the name of the person to whom they refer.</p>"}
acqinfo: {"value"=>"<p>Collection was purchased in 1970.</p>"}
processinfo: {"value"=>"<p>Collection was originally processed in the 1970s under the call number *MNY Pasta. Collection was rehoused and inventoried by Mary Freeman in 2017.</p>"}
date_start: 1816
keydate: 1816
date_end: 1864
date_inclusive_start: 1816
date_inclusive_end: 1864
extent_statement: 3.14 linear feet (15 boxes)
prefercite: {"value"=>"Giuditta Pasta correspondence, JOB 16-01. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}
abstract: {"value"=>" The collection includes letters from many composers, some of whom wrote roles for her, including from Vincenzo Bellini. Also includes letters and poems from acquaintances, as well as various ephemera such as receipts and ticket stubs.", "generated"=>true}

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