Adelina Stehle

Who was Adelina Stehle?

Adelina Stehle was an Austrian-born operatic soprano, associated almost entirely with the Italian repertory. She studied singing in Milan and debuted as Amina in 1881 in Broni in Lombardy. Her career eventually brought her to La Scala in 1890 where she flourished. She took part in a series of important premieres in the 1890s. In 1893 she was the first Nannetta in Verdi's Falstaff to the Fenton of her husband, Edoardo Garbin, and they were later important in the popularization of Puccini's La bohème.

In 1902 she went to South America before singing in Paris with the Sonzogno Company, as well as in Berlin, Vienna and Saint Petersburg. She became identified with the heavier roles of Italian verismo opera such as Adriana Lecouvreur and Fedora.

When she retired from the stage she became a noted teacher. Among her pupils were Giannina Arangi-Lombardi.