# Loretta Di Franco

Loretta Di Franco (October 28, 1942 – December 30, 2024) was an American operatic soprano. She was known for her more than 900 performances at the Metropolitan Opera from 1961 to 1995.

## Life and career

Di Franco was born in New York City on October 28, 1942. She first worked as a secretary and studied voice with Maud Webber and Walter Taussig. She became a member of the opera chorus of the Metropolitan Opera (Met) in New York City, and was eventually promoted to singing small comprimario roles, beginning with one of the pages in Wagner's Tannhäuser and the peasant girl in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in 1961. She went on to win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1965 which led to her engagement as a soloist. Her first substantial role was Chloe in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades. She continued to appear annually at the Met for the next 30 years, performing both leading and supporting roles.
Her roles at the Met included Annina in La traviata, both the Aunt and Barena in Janáček's Jenůfa, Barbarina and Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, Berta in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Countess Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto, the Dew Fairy and the Sandman in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Feklusa in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová, the Papagena and the First Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, the Flower Seller in Britten's Death in Venice, Frasquita in Bizet's Carmen, Gerhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre, Giannetta in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Helen in Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra, Ines in Verdi's Il trovatore, Jouvenot in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, Kate Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Laura in Verdi's Luisa Miller, Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schichi, Lisa in Bellini's La sonnambula, Poussette in Massenet's Manon, Marianne in Der Rosenkavalier by R. Strauss, Marthe in Gounod's Faust, Musetta in Puccini's La bohème, Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, Samaritana in Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, Woglinde in both Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, Xenia in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. In 1991 she created the role of the Woman with Child in the world premiere of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles. This was also the role in which she gave her final performance at the Metropolitan in April 1995. She appeared in 929 performances at and with the Met, placing her 36th on the list of the company's performers with the most appearances.
Di Franco also worked as a concert singer. She appeared as a guest, at major houses in the U.S. and at the 1975 Salzburg Festival as Hüterin der Schwelle in Die Frau ohne Schatten by R. Strauss.
After retiring from her singing career, she remained with the Met as a language coach, including English diction coach for a new production of Britten's Peter Grimes in the 2007/08 season and as Italian coach for many international guests at the Met.
Di Franco died on December 30, 2024, at the age of 82.

## Videography

* Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234, 2006
* The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538, 2009