Stella De Mette

Stella De Mette Liazza (May 27, 1891 – May 15, 1989) was an American contralto and grand opera singer who performed in European opera houses, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and in Broadway productions throughout her career.

Born to Italian and Spanish parents, De Mette grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began singing at the age of four. The Italian tenor Enrico Caruso heard her as a child and encouraged her to pursue formal operatic training in Italy. In 1908, at the age of seventeen, she relocated to Milan with her grandmother to study opera. Her professional debut came in Genoa, where she performed in Cavalleria Rusticana at the age of nineteen as a mezzo-soprano, though she would later be recognized as a contralto.

Following her return to the United States, De Mette performed at the Metropolitan Opera, where she accumulated 500 performances of Carmen and 700 performances of Aida. She also sang with the San Carlo Opera Company, where she met Francesco Liazza, the company's first trombonist and orchestra manager, whom she later married.

Alongside her operatic career, De Mette appeared in 14 dramatic productions on Broadway. Her verified Broadway credits include the 1932 revue Chamberlain Brown's Scrap Book.

After Francesco Liazza's death in 1942, De Mette retired from performing. She subsequently taught at Villa Duchesne School for five years and at Maryville College for eleven years. She died on May 15, 1989, in Oakland, Missouri, at the age of 97.