Giuseppina Strepponi
also Clelia Maria Josepha Strepponi
Birthplace: Lodi, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
Giuseppina Strepponi was an Italian soprano who created Abigaille in Verdi's Nabucco (1842) and became his second wife. The daughter of the organist and composer Feliciano Strepponi, she won the first prize for bel canto at the Milan Conservatory and made her debut in 1834. Her first triumph came at Trieste in 1835, and through the late 1830s she aroused fanatical enthusiasm; Donizetti wrote Adelia for her. Overwork, and three children born outside marriage, wore down her voice, and she retired in 1846. She met Verdi late in 1847, became his partner in August 1848 and married him in 1859.
Creations
- Abigaille — Nabucco
Written from
- Budden, J. (1992) 'Strepponi, Giuseppina [Clelia Maria Josepha]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 582.
- Wikipedia (2026) Giuseppina Strepponi. (Accessed: 30 September 2026).
- Rizzo, D. (2019) 'Strepponi, Giuseppina', in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, vol. 94. (Accessed: 30 September 2026).
- Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Strepponi, Giuseppina', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 2, cols. 2872-2873.
- Rescigno, E. (2001) 'Strepponi, Giuseppina', in Dizionario verdiano. Milan: Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, pp. 503-504.