A project of her own: Emma Carelli's enactment of femininity in early twentieth-century Italy

Gentili, Barbara 2024. A project of her own: Emma Carelli's enactment of femininity in early twentieth-century Italy. Cambridge Opera Journal 36 (1) , pp. 53-68. 10.1017/S0954586723000228

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Abstract

The story of soprano and opera impresaria Emma Carelli (1877–1928) has often been recounted as the tale of a successful prima donna who rather abruptly turned to opera management in order to assist her husband, Walter Mocchi, in his entrepreneurial ventures. Drawing on a wealth of unpublished primary sources – including Carelli's scrapbooks, critics’ reviews and a set of letters she wrote to the impresario, critic and agent Adolfo Re Riccardi – my article demonstrates that Carelli's choice was entirely self-motivated and the product of her unique set of individual attributes. The significance of Carelli's journey can best be understood by situating the singer and impresaria within her contemporary social landscape and by examining her personal story through the lens of women's history. Such a perspective unveils the strategies that she adopted to enact a stirring ideal of femininity in opposition to the values of the liberal state in early twentieth-century Italy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Music
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0954-5867
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	20 November 2025
Date of Acceptance:	1 December 2023
Last Modified:	20 Nov 2025 14:58
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182537

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