The soprano Ostava Torriani was an elusive lady and information has been derived from fragmented sources. Her real name was Tornquist. She had a Swedish father and a German mother and was presumably born in the mid 1840s. Both Hamburg and Vienna have been quoted as her birthplace: the former is probably correct. Rossini, Lamperti in Milan and Wachtel in Paris are reported to have been associated with her training. Her operatic debut in the late 1860s was followed by appearances at Hamburg and other continental cities before making her British debut in Lucia di Lammermoor with Mapleson’s company at Edinburgh in March 1873. She was well received throughout the tour and when the season ended at London in the summer she was ready for more Italian opera with the Strakosch company in America. Her American debut took place at the New York Academy of Music on 6 October, again in Lucia, and followed with Mignon, Ernani, and Don Giovanni. Her most important appearance came on 22 November when she successfully created the title role in the American premiere of Aida with Italo Campanini as Radames and Victor Maurel as Amonasro. Her success continued in other American cities and when she sailed for home in May 1874 she eventually came to the attention of Carl Rosa.
Carl was busy planning to retrieve the company fortunes following the death of Parepa with a prestigious 1875 season. He would have been aware of Torriani’s British and American success and contacts with his native Hamburg would have confirmed her vocal abilities. She was accordingly engaged as one of a powerful company headed by Charles Santley. They began with their first London performance at the Princess’s Theatre on 11 September 1875. The opera was Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro with Carl as conductor, Santley in the title role, Torriani as the Countess, and Rose Hersee as Susanna. The production and performance were highly praised. The critic Hermann Klein writing years later remembered it as ‘the best ever given in the English language.’ When the season ended at Birmingham in May of the following year Torriani had added Faust, Trovatore, Siege of Rochelle, Water Carrier and Zampa to her Rosa repertoire to establish herself in English opera and Carl Rosa had revived his company.
Torriani’s second Rosa season was mainly repetitive with two important additions during the London season at the Lyceum. She was Senta in the first English version of The Flying Dutchman on 3 October 1876 and Leonora in Fidelio a month later on 2 November. She succeeded in both roles in London and the provinces. The Dutchman with Santley achieved almost fifty performances; Fidelio received twelve performances amidst praise for her spirited Leonora. She had appeared in 217 performances of eight operas before departing with Trovatore at the Theatre Royal Wolverhampton on 11 May 1877. Surprisingly she never returned to the company or to Britain despite her two very successful Rosa seasons. English opera with Strakosch in America in the 1880-81 season seems to end her operatic career. Perhaps marriage and family beckoned but there is no biographical information.
The premieres of the American Aida and the Rosa Dutchman give Torriani her niche in operatic history via the reference books. She had her moment of glory but there should have been more than just a moment.
© 2025 John Ward
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