# Ester Mazzoleni and Bianca Scacciati



## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

Two names I haven't encountered yet on this forum. They seem to be highly underrated. I stumbled upon them randomly lately and I already think they are two of the finest voices I've ever heard.

Scacciati gives Ponselle a run for her money. The recording quality has done Mazzoleni a great disservice but she still shines through. Both sound to me like what Callas used to listen to for inspiration.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

You can encounter them and many others here: 

http://www.talkclassical.com/13891-great-female-singers-past.html

Mazzoleni was a gifted dramatic soprano, with a very good career, and she was considered a star in Italy, especially in the 1910s. She retired in the 1920s after getting married to a rich man from Palermo.

Scacciati was ten years younger, and she was also very succesful during the 1920s and 1930s. She retired in the 1940s.

However, if you think about possible Callas's role models, I think you need to go to Ponselle, to Claudia Muzio (the first Divina), to Magda Olivero...


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

schigolch said:


> You can encounter them and many others here:
> 
> http://www.talkclassical.com/13891-great-female-singers-past.html
> 
> ...


Oh yes I knew about those already. But none of them sounded nearly as similar to Callas as Mazzoleni and Scacciati to my ears.


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