Portrait of Ernestina Telmatt Cottone (Emma Vecla)

Ernestina Telmatt (1877-1972), the last of the eight children of a French officer, was born in Algeria, in Oran, the seat of a colonial prefecture. He moved to Paris, attended the Conservatory, studied singing, violin and piano, graduated and made his debut at the age of 18 at the Opera Comique. She choose the stage name of Emma Vecla, in homage to her godmother, the singer Emma Calvè, whose surname is anagram. Switch from one tour to another, becoming a star, with fans willing to do anything to stay close to her. In Milan he meets Giulio Ricordi who convinces her to devote himself only to the operetta and even Lehar will be come and to pay his respect to her at the Dal Verme theater on the occasion of the fiftieth of the 200 performances of "La vedova allegra". At the outbreak of the war she abandoned the theaters and dedicated herself with passion to the assistance of the wounded, revealing his philanthropic vocation which, thanks also to the substantial patrimony of her husband, the wealthy businessman Salvatore Cottone, from the 1930s will distinguish all his life. To benefit from her generosity are the Istituto dei Cichi (Institute of the Blind), the Ospedale Maggiore, which even dedicates a pavilion to it, the Museum of Science and Technology, which thanks to its conspicuous donation sets up the Musical Instruments Section, and the Retirement Home of the Giuseppe Verdi Musicians, who then welcomed her among his guests and where she will died at the age of 95. The commission of the portrait is entrusted to Onofrio Tomaselli, which she expressly indicated. He represents her so that nothing evokes her past as a show woman. The dress is dark and simple, enlivened by three touches of white; the shoes that sprout from the hem of the dress are sober décolleté; short and wavy hair. Sitting on a severe savonarola, in a graceful pose, with her hands intertwined at the crossed knee, she has behind a curtain, which perhaps alludes to the distant curtain of one of the theaters where she trod the scenes.