A forgotten French nightingale, Polydor Berlin 1928, orch. Manfred Gurlit. Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi (born in Paris November 2, 1886 - died July 18, 1974, was a French operatic soprano. Initially trained to be a pianist by her uncle Theodore Ritter, at age 16 she started to receive singing lessons from her parents: Italian father, tenor Enzo Ciampi-Cellai, and French mother, Cécile Ritter-Ciampi. She debuted in 1917 (as Violetta in La Traviata) and two years later was engaged at Opéra-Comique where she become famous as an interpreter in Mozart operatic roles. Her activity was centered predominantly in France, but she took part also in the Salzburg Festival in 1932 (again in Mozart's roles). She was considered a fine, light lyric soprano, with good technique, and capable to reach with easy high notes, frequently compared in her days with Adelina Patti (that her voice was similar in quality). She did most of her recordings between 1923 and 1929, recorded many selected arias from various works, but never complete operas. She also sang the title role in Esclarmonde during Opéra Garnier short-lived revival of that opera between 1931 and 1934[1] Her career practically ended with World War II, the last engagement (in 1949) being a role in an operetta by Reynaldo Hahn, Le oui des jeunes filles.
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