From prima donna to teacher. Two female pioneers in singing education in the Nineteenth Century: Virginia Boccabadati and Matilde Esteban

Abstract

During the 19th-century, the teaching of singing became a career opportunity for the women who had worked in the lyrical stage. The core objective of this article is to reclaim the role of women in music education by studying two prime donnewho, after building a career as successful professional singers, became singing teachers and were pioneers in publishing their methods for female voice education. This research is based on the review and analysis of documentation, mostly historical. By looking at the biographies of the Italian singer, Virginia Boccabadati (1830-1922) and the Spanish singer, Matilde Esteban (1841-1915), we can discover the context in which their treatises were published and the image they offer of woman as a singer and as a student. By choosing women who were each other's contemporary, but from different countries, helps us to observe the obvious points related to gender determinants that their treatises had in common.

Keywords

• gender and music, vocal pedagogy, prima donna, singing treatise, 19th century
• género y música, pedagogía vocal, prima donna, tratado de canto, Siglo XIX