She was born Rose Melba Ponzillo on January 22, 1897, in Meriden, Connecticut, the youngest of three children. Her parents were Italian Neapolitan immigrants.
Rosa had an exceptionally mature voice at an early age and, at least in her early years, sang on natural endowment with little, if any, vocal training. She sang in movie houses and cafes in Meriden and at church, and she soon became well-known locally for her exceptionally beautiful voice.
Rosa Ponselle made her Metropolitan Opera debut on November 15, 1918, as Leonora in Verdi's La forza del destino, opposite Caruso. It was her first performance on any opera stage. In spite of an almost paralyzing case of nerves (which she suffered from throughout her operatic career), she scored a tremendous success, both with the public and with the critics.
In addition to her operatic activities, which were centered at the Met, Ponselle also had an active concert career.
The following recordings best demonstrate the various aspects of Ponselle's voice discussed above:
Range, timbre, pianissimo: "Suicidio!"
Trill and coloratura: "Ernani, involami" and "Mercè, diletti amiche" ("Bolero")
Legato: "Tu che invoco" and "O nume tutelar"
Dynamic control and messa di voce: "Pace, pace, mio Dio"
Ponselle died at the Villa Pace near Baltimore, Maryland on May 25, 1981.
"Rosa Ponselle has the low notes of a contralto, and a knock-out high-C. And there were no artificial registers in the voice--it went from bottom to top in the smoothest, most seamless of scales, with no shifting from chest to head. And that trill: that articulated br-r-r-r- which no singer today is able to come near matching! And the emotionalism of her singing, combined with good taste! And the power when she let loose! And the delicacy of her pianissimos! And the flexibility in coloratura work! And the accuracy of intonation! And the handsome figure onstage!"
