Renata Scotto Obituary

Renata Scotto was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. She died in her home town of Savona on the 16th of August 2023, at the age of 89.

No cause of was given.  Scotto’s New York-based manager, Robert Lombardo, said he was called by her family and informed of her death.

“I had spoken to her several weeks ago and I didn’t get any indication that anything was going on,” he said. Scotto had homes in Italy and Armonk, New York.

Renata Scotto was born on February 24, 1934, in Savona, a fishing port. She began studying music at the Milan Conservatory when she was 16 years old.

Scotto’s big break came in 1957, when she was cast as Amina in a La Scala performance of Bellini’s La Sonnambula at the Edinburgh Festival.

Renata Scotto is regarded as one of the best opera singers of her generation due to her sense of style, musicality, and ability as a spectacular singer-actress.

She appeared in 45 parts during the course of her career, including the main roles in Verdi’s La traviata, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur.

Renata Scotto co-starred with Luciano Pavarotti in the first Metropolitan Opera webcast in 1977, as Mimi in Puccini’s La bohème.