- Voice
Ms. Sciutti was born in Turin on April 17, 1927, and studied at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. During her student years she was a soloist in a performance of Bach's ''St. Matthew Passion,'' conducted by Herbert von Karajan. She made her formal debut as Lucy in Gian-Carlo Menotti's ''Telephone'' at Aix-en-Provence in 1951, and she remained an important presence at the festival for many years. Among the roles she sang there were three of the Mozart roles that quickly became signature pieces for her, Susanna in ''Nozze di Figaro,'' Despina in ''Così Fan Tutte'' and Zerlina in ''Don Giovanni.’'
She also created the title role of Henri Sauguet's ''Caprices de Marianne'' at Aix-en-Provence in 1954, the same year she made her Glyndebourne debut as Rosina in Rossini's ''Barbiere di Siviglia.'' She sang Carolina in Cimarosa's ''Matrimonio Segreto'' in the inaugural performances of the Piccola Scala, in Milan, where she went on to sing a broad repertory that included roles in Piccini's ''Buona Figliuola,'' Donizetti's ''Don Pasquale,'' Rossini's ''Comte Ory'' and Paisiello's ''Nina Pazza per Amore.’'
Ms. Sciutti made her Covent Garden debut in 1956, and her American debut, at the San Francisco Opera, in 1961. She was also a member of the Vienna State Opera roster for several years, where her most successful roles were in the Mozart operas and as Nanetta in a Luchino Visconti production of Verdi's ''Falstaff.'' And she sang at the Salzburg Festival for nearly 20 years.
In 1977 Ms. Sciutti sang in and directed a production of Poulenc's ''Voix Humaine'' at Glyndebourne, preparing her way to give up the stage and become a director. She staged productions of ''Le Nozze di Figaro'' and Donizetti's ''Elisir d'Amore'' at the Canadian Opera, and in 1983 she made her New York directing debut with a highly praised staging of Puccini's ''Bohème'' at the Juilliard School. In 1984 she revised Colin Graham's production of ''Così Fan Tutte'' at the Metropolitan Opera. Her 1995 staging of ''La Bohème'' at the New York City Opera won an Emmy Award after it was broadcast as part of the ''Live From Lincoln Center'' series in 1997.
Ms. Sciutti taught at the Royal College of Music in London and gave master classes at the Lyric Center of Chicago, at the Juilliard School and as part of the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera.
She teaches at the Académie musicale de Villecroze in 1998.