BIOGRAPHY

OLIVIA ANNE BONELLI

was born on July 2, 1920, in Troy, New York, the eldest of six children born to Louis Bonelli and Jenny Riccardi.

Despite the demands of sharing mulitple family responsibilities, she asked for--and was provided with--weekly piano lessons.

When she joined the choir at St. Anthony's Church, it became obvious that she possessed a beautiful, clear and expressive soprano voice.

She auditioned for and was accepted as a pupil of Charles Pickering who taught at the prestigious Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y. and made her debut there in a solo recital.

Her professional career was launched in 1944 when she auditioned for and was accepted in the chorus of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. However her chorus status was cut short when she was plucked from the chorus line and given the prestigious honor of singing "Oh Holy Night" in the company's famed Christmas Show. The soprano engaged to appear as soloist had left in a huff the day before the Christmas Show was to begin. This sudden opportunity presented no perils for Olivia, as she had sung this Christmas favorite for years at St. Anthony's, capping it every time with a ringing, beautiful high "C!" She remained a soloist at Radio City for three years.

She sang her first performance with the New York City Opera in the small role of "Mrs. Hays" in the New York premiere of Carlyle Floyd's opera, "Susannah" in 1956, but made her official debut there in 1963 in the season's first "La Boheme" singing the role of "Mimi" in Puccini's opera.

Other operas she appeared in with the company were Verdi's "La Traviata," (Violetta), Bizet's "Carmen,"(Micaela) and Charpentier's "Louise," (Irma).

She was one of the early pioneers in live, televised opera, singing Violetta in an ABC-TV production of "La Traviata" with tenor William Lewis , conducted by pianist Earl Wild in one of his first forays into the world of conducting. She also sang the soprano lead in the premiere of his oratorio, "Revelations" also on ABC-TV.

In addition to her work in New York, she sang leading roles with the major opera companies in Cincinnati, Chattanooga, Dayton, Toledo, and Honolulu, as well as with the Connecticut Opera Association and the Philadelphia Grand Opera.

During her career, Olivia earned the reputation with conductors and composers as a "quick learn," capable of absorbing and performing difficult contemporary music at almost a moment's notice.

One dramatic example of that occurred when the noted soprano Teresa Stratas had to cancel her appearance just a few days before the first on-stage reading at the Metropolitan Opera of Marvin David Levy's, "Mourning Becomes Electra." Olivia hunkered down with the composer and learned the treacherous part in two days, saving the performance.

Olivia credited her training and development to several people who had an important influence on her career. First was a friend of her father's, Henry Giraud, a Swiss Italian who tutored her in languages, especially French. Later she attributed much of her vocal technique to her teacher and mentor, Julia Drobner, who had a short career in Russia as a mezzo soprano. Next would come Aldo DiTullio, a voice teacher, pianist and vocal coach, with whom she prepared many of her roles. She counted Aldo and his wife, the brilliant soprano Eileen DiTullio, as among her closest and dearest of friends. Pianist Earl Wild
in the role of orchestra conductor and confidante, collaborated with her on many exciting projects later in her career. And finally her husband, George Ortell, whom she married in the early 1950's and himself a performing tenor before establishing his own greeting card business, was always at her side with encouragement and advice.

Olivia and George lived for many years in New York City, eventually retiring in Montvale, New Jersey, where she passed away on December 17, 1990. Her husband died in July 2005, just a few weeks before his 100th birthday.