Francesca Franci

Francesca Franci (born 1962) is an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano.

A native of Rome, Franci is the granddaughter of baritone Benvenuto Franci [it]^[1] and the daughter of conductor Carlo Franci [it].^[2] She studied under Rodolfo Celletti^[1] and Tito Gobbi,^[2] and debuted in Verona, at the Teatro Filarmonico, in 1985,^[1] singing the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen by Gustav Mahler.^[2] She has sung extensively in Italy, including at the Teatro Comunale in Genoa; the Teatro Petruzzelli, in Bari; the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, at which she was a regular performer;^[1] the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma;^[3] the Teatro San Carlo; the Teatro Comunale in Florence; and La Scala.^[1] In 1988 she appeared in Gaetano Donizetti's Maria di Rohan at the Festival of the Valle d'Itria.^[1] Internationally, she has appeared at the New Israeli Opera,^[4] the Paris Opera, and in Wiesbaden,^[1] and in concert with the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.^[5] Roles which she has sung include Maddalena, in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto; Rosina, in Gioachino Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia; and Suzuki, in Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly.^[1]