Emma Trentini

Emma Trentini (1878 – March 23, 1959) was an Italian soprano opera singer who came to the United States in December 1906.

Melba the Great recommended Trentini to Oscar Hammerstein who was in Paris and searching throughout Europe for new talent.

In February 1907 Trentini wore the clothing of an old woman in a production of the comic opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini.

The same month she became ill for several weeks after going on stage with Nellie Melba and Emma Calvé, against the advice of her physician.

Trentini continued to play minor roles but her piquant personality made them seem more significant.

She approached the kitchen chair in the first entrance at the Manhattan Opera, where the impresario and Board of Directors were seated.

Claude Debussy heard her sing Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande at Covent Garden in London.

Among her more noteworthy roles are performances as Violetta in La Traviata, Nedda in Pagliacci, and Gilda in Rigoletto.

Under Hammerstein's management she sang roles in Un ballo in maschera, Louise, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Thaïs, and "Pelléas et Mélisande".

Trentini was depicting two people when Italian soprano Lina Cavalieri became ill and could not make an evening performance.

The English language continued to be a problem for her, though she took eighty lessons in a single season the previous winter.

The feud between Herbert and Trentini gave composer Rudolf Friml his first big opportunity.

Opera tenor Enrico Caruso wooed Trentini for sixteen months after which she vowed to marry him in 1911.

Later, Trentini was named as a co-respondent in Friml's divorce from his first wife in 1915, and evidence was introduced that they were having an affair.