Carmela ponselle biography channel

          She was born Rose Melba Ponzillo in Meriden, Connecticut, the youngest of three children.

        1. Also included is material concerning her sister Carmela Ponselle ().
        2. Rosa Ponselle: Interview With William Seward of Columbia Records (Odyssey,) · Rosa and Carmela Ponselle: The Sisters'.
        3. Published in celebration of the th anniversary of her birth, this book presents a candid portrait of Ponselle, “the Caruso in petticoats ” contrasting.
        4. Soprano Rosa Ponselle and her sister contralto Carmela Ponselle sing "Barcarolle" (from "Tales of Hoffmann" by Jacques Offenbach) on.

          5. Rosa Ponselle: Interview With William Seward of Columbia Records (Odyssey,) · Rosa and Carmela Ponselle: The Sisters'.!

          Beginnings

          The Ponzillo family in 1907.

          From Connecticut to Vaudeville

          As a young girl, Rosa Ponzillo became fascinated with the piano when her sister Carmela, eight years her senior, began taking lessons in their home in Meriden, Connecticut.

          Rosa soon had aspirations of becoming a concert pianist, singing only for fun with recordings. When her piano teacher heard her sing, however, she immediately began to work with Rosa on her vocal technique. Carmela, who went to New York to start a vaudeville career, began to introduce Rosa to jobs in the local music industry, including demonstrating sheet music in stores, singing in movie theaters, and later performing in local theaters like the Poli Theatre with a small orchestra. 

          Carmela soon convinced Rosa to come to New York to join her on the stage, and as their act took off, they sent money home to pay off debts incurred by the family.

          Because there was a strong Italian-American presence in the vaudeville audience, akin t