Rita Fornia <br /><br />Chanson de Stefano <br /><br />Aria from Roméo et Juliette <br /><br />December 23, 1910 <br /><br />Victor 74211 <br /><br />Composer is Gounod <br /><br />The singer Rita Fornia was born on July 17, 1878, in San Francisco. <br /><br />Her real name was Regina Newman. Her parents had come from Prussia. <br /><br />She started as a coloratura soprano but later sang mezzo-soprano roles and soprano roles--mostly supporting roles when she was with the Metropolitan Opera company (she began with that outfit in 1907). <br /><br />She was never among the leading singers of her time--that is, she never enjoyed the stature or box office drawing power of such Americans as Eames, Nordica, or Farrar--but Fornia left behind a handful of lovely recordings made for the Victor Talking Machine Company among others. <br /><br />The singer died on October 26, 1922.
