Biographical Note
Claudia Muzio was born Claudina Emilia Maria Muzio on February 7, 1889, in Pavia, Italy, to Carlo Muzio and Giovanna Gavirati. Her father was an opera house stage manager and her mother was an opera chorister. From about 1891 to 1908 their primary residence was London, where both of her parents worked at Covent Garden. They also worked in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera. Muzio began musical training while in London, studying both harp and piano under the tutelage of her mother. She returned to Italy in 1908 to live with family and continue her piano studies with mezzo-soprano Annetta Casaloni. At Casaloni's insistence, Muzio began vocal studies. She studied briefly with soprano Elettra Callery-Viviani in Milan, then pursued formal vocal training for a little more than two years. Muzio made her official debut in 1910 at the Teatro Petrarca in Arezzo, in the title role in Jules Massenet's Manon. She made her London debut at Covent Garden in 1914 and her United States debut in December 1916 with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Immediately following the 1916-1917 season she began recording arias for Pathé, making more than thirty records. Between 1920 and 1925 she made thirty recordings for the Edison Company. In 1922 she began performing with the Chicago Civic Opera and performing alternate seasons with the San Francisco Opera. For the next decade she toured throughout North America, South America, and Italy. Her final U.S. performance was in January 1934 with the Metropolitan Opera. She died on May 24, 1936, in Rome after experiencing poor health on a trip to South America.