Mirella Freni was born in 1935 in Modena, Italy. As a child she knew the young Luciano Pavarotti, who was approximately her age. She and Pavarotti would later work frequently together in many opera productions. Freni made her operatic debut at the age of 19 in her hometown of Modena as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen. In 1963 she made her La Scala debut in a performance conducted by Herbert von Karajan, with whom she continued to have close professional relationship. Freni soon rose to operatic fame, singing in all of the greatest opera houses of the world. Gradually she moved from more lyrical roles to heavier ones, like Elisabetta in Verdi’s Don Carlos and the title heroine in Verdi’s Aida. In the later years of her career she added Russian works such as Tatiana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Jeanne d’Arc in Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans. In 1981 she married the great basso Nicolai Ghiaurov. They remained married until his death in 2004. Freni continues to sing to critical and popular acclaim to this day.