Mmvrwfn niinin iwi 1111 .'
it'"'' . '
s t 1 "
4
ANNA MARIA ALBERGHETTI (Continued from page 11)
"She has a true sound," he said to Mother,
"a definite vocal talent. I could teach her to
become a great singer."
"It's such a little voice," Mother pro
tested, "and she's too young. Teaching her
now would be a complete waste of time."
But Father was determined and Mother
wasn't too surprised.
Father started to give me lessons immedi
ately, and within a year I was studying four
or five hours a day with him. By the time
I was six years old and gave my first con
cert, I had, impossible as it may sound, three
solid years of training behind me.
AT the time of my first concert, World
War II was on and the bombing raids
on our island were increasing each week.
Father, who was director of the Rhodes
Musical Conservatory, appealed to the mili
tary governor to allow us to return to Italy.
Once the war ended, we moved to the city
of Pesaro, Italy, where Father had been '
born, and my serious musical studies began
again. Father himself taught me (he was
suspicious of other voice teachers and would
say, "If anybody's going to ruin my chil
dren's voices, it's going to be me").
Our family had little money, and Father
would often go into debt to hire a hall for
my early concerts. Once, all the members
of the local orchestra refused to accept
money, knowing Father was having trouble
meeting his bills. Years later, Father in
sisted that we return to Pesaro to give a
special concert from which all the money
was turned over to the musicians.
Even if I was the center of attention on
stage, my important role at home was being
a member of our family. I tried acting su
perior once, and my little brother Paul said,
"What do you think? That you are impor
tant because you can sing? Well, you
couldn't without Papa!"
Though I loved Mother, I spent three
times as many hours with Father and was
much closer to him. Music was our special
bond, and I could talk to him as a friend as
I could never talk to Mother.
As I became more accomplished, Father
began to arrange concerts all over Europe
and eventually the United States. Shortly
after my 13th birthday, I stepped onto the
stage of Carnegie Hall In New York for my
first appearance in America. The critics gave
me wonderful reviews, and as a result Ed
Sullivan invited me to appear on his tele
vision show,
Father was suspicious of movies, so when
he was later approached for "Here
Comes the Groom," with Bing Crosby and
Jane Wyman, he almost turned it down. A
studio vice president had to come and argue
for days. Father agreed only after he was
promised free round-trip tickets to Holly
wood for all five Alberghettis.
If Father was demanding when it came to
my contracts, he was equally hard in what
he expected from me as a performer. When
ever I gave a bad concert, he stopped being
a father the moment we were alone. "I
wouldn't pay 25 cents to see the concert you
gave tonight," he would snap. "You should
be ashamed to come out on a stage and sing
the way you did!"
These quarrels were mainly professional,
and they were healthy. We had the same
Italian tempers that boiled over quick
ly. But we were able to forget the argu
ments just as quickly.
Never, in those years, did I conceive of a
world without my father. When the doctors
told me in 1956 that he was seriously ill, I
couldn't believe it. But suddenly I discov
ered new responsibilities were dropping on
my shoulders.
The first important decision was whether
my father should undergo an operation.
Mother felt that because Father and I had
such similar temperaments, I would know
best what he would want done.
"Talk to the doctors," she said. "Then .
you decide. I can't"
Unfortunately, however, the operation
did not stop the disease, and the doctors
said that Father had only six months to live.
They tried to say it as gently as possible,
but the brutal fact had to be faced.
Father died in 1957. After the funeral, I
wandered around in a daze. Then, one
evening, Mother came into my room as I
was getting ready for bed.
Mother said, "You know, Anna, when God
sends us something as terrible as your
father's death, He also sends along with it
a great strength to endure the grief and
come out of it. If you don't try to keep on
living and working, you will make this
thing much harder for yourself."
When my manager called a day later to
remind me of a contract I had been post
poning for months with one of the big Las
Vegas hotels, I said I'd try to play the date.
That evening, I sat down with Carla, who
was just launching her own career as a
singer, and said, "You've got to come and
work with me. I can't do it alone."
Tears were in Carla's eyes. "If you really
need me, of course I'll help," she said.
Opening night in Las Vegas was fright
ening, yet I felt strangely calm. As we stood
off-stage and the master of ceremonies be
gan to introduce us, I felt Carla put her
hand in mine. Though I knew Father was no
longer with me physically, I realized he
would never be completely gone.
Carla and I were a hit in Las Vegas. Now
I'm living in New York alone, acting and
singing on Broadway in the musical comedy,
"Carnival."
Of course, I talk to Mother, Carla, and
Paul in California practically every day on
the telephone. I realize now that while
Father had been giving his strength and
wisdom to me he had also been giving to
the others in my family.
When I needed help, they had stepped
forward to give me strength. In a sense, my
father is all about me in the faces and love
of my family.
Family Weekly, October 1, 1961
i
1
3
i M
rf.Ul'Jl'lHtl
SAVINGS ON CAR FINANCING
He saved over $100 by financing his car through State Farm's
Bank Plan. Thousands like him save up to $300, sometimes more,
enjoy lower payments, shorter loans. You save through low bank
rates. State Farm helps you get financing at orie of our 10,000
cooperating banks. It's simple and it's pri
vate. No extra fees, no hidden charges.
And you save with our low cost insurance
for careful drivers. Your State Farm
"Family Insurance Man" handles all the
details. He's listed in the Yellow Pages
under "State Farm Insurance."
STATE FARM THE CAREFUL DRIVER'S CAR INSURANCE
3 Stata Farm Mutual Automobih tniuranc Company. Noma Offlea: Bhomlngton, lltinofa
STAtl fftIM
INtUIAMCI