One of the most renowned Italian divas, soprano Magda Olivero passed away, aged 104 years. The news of her death saddened art-lovers everywhere, whereas at La Scala, the famous Milanese Opera, where Olivero had had some of her most memorable performances, observed a minute of silence in her memory.

The Italian diva had a brilliant, 70-year career. The amazing fact is that her last live performance was 4 years ago, when she had reached 100 years of age. La Repubblica newspaper had then written that her Palazzo Cusani di Milano performance was “magnificent”.

Magda Olivero debuted in 1930 but stopped singing after her wedding in 1941. Ten years later, she returned, singing across Europe and America. Among many roles that left a mark on her career was Puccini’s Tosca, Umberto Giordano’s Fedora and Luigi Cherubini’s Medea.

Olivery passed away on Monday, September 8th in the hospital, and will be missed.