Catiuscia Maria Stella Ricciarelli (born 16 January 1946), known as Katia Ricciarelli, is an Italian soprano and actress. Born in Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music. She studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, won several vocal competitions in 1968, and made her professional debut as Mimì in La bohème in Mantua in 1969, followed by a 1970 appearance in Il trovatore in Parma. In the following year, she won RAI's "Voci Verdiane" award. Between 1972 and 1975, engagements followed in the major European and American opera houses, including Lyric Opera of Chicago (1972); Teatro alla Scala (1973); Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (1974); and the Metropolitan Opera in 1975. In 1981, she began a decade-long association with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, t...read more