RIP, Muriel Agnello

[Derek McGovern]

I was very sad to learn last night that Muriel (aka Muriella) Agnello, a one-time prolific contributor to this forum, passed away just before Christmas. She was 80 years old, and had been suffering from cancer. Her obituary can be read here:

https://www.colefuneral.com/notices/Muriel-Agnello 

Muriel hadn't posted here in a long time, but for many years she was an almost-daily contributor, enlivening this forum (and its predecessors) with her warmth, intelligence and humour. She also wrote a number of feature articles for our home site, mariolanzatenor.com. These were fun, quirky, and at times very touching opinion pieces on Mario Lanza and his legacy, and they can be read here:  

https://www.mariolanzatenor.com/personal-reflections.html  

The last time I heard from Muriel, she had just received the first of our Sepia Records CD compilations---Mario Lanza: Greatest Operatic Recordings---and was thrilled that a cherished dream had finally come true.

RIP, Muriella.

 

[Palmarola2012]

Dear Derek. 

This is sad news. I met her in Rome when she came to visit me and took her to dinner. Of course, our conversation was about Mario and his talent and how he changed the lives of those who learned about him and his thrilling ability to sing, act and perform. 

Muriel was sweet, kind and articulate. Condolences to her family. We have lost a friend. 

Emilio

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[Vincent Di Placido]

Oh! This is very sad news, myself & Aoife met up with Muriel twice during her visits to Ireland, what a delight she was & we had lovely moments talking of Mario & music & even had a wee sing-song.
RIP dear sweet Muriel. ❤️

[Savage]

Very sad news indeed.  A few years ago we exchanged messages, CDs , and translations. She was always one of Mario's most passionate fans. She will be missed. I just read her article "The Magic of Mario" again and have nothing but the highest praise for her writing. May she rest in peace.

[Lou Abada]

I was deeply saddened by the news of Muriel's passing but was heartened to read in her obituary that she died as she had lived, devoted to her family and generous with her time and energy even in the last few weeks of her life. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Muriel in person, but sharing her Catholic faith, I hope to meet her in heaven in God’s appointed time. Rest in peace, dear Muriel. 

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[leeann]

I'm so sorry. What a dear woman who was a friend to so many people from so many different places. We had the chance to meet a few times. During our conversations, she always had Mario Lanza singing in the background, and she often spoke about how much writing for the forum meant to her. She said she'd never considered article-writing, but  Lanza and his music inspired her and the people and ideas on this forum were so important to her. 

Once when we went to an opera at the Kennedy Center together I had to choke back laughing out loud a few times at the wrong time. Every time the tenor opened his mouth, Muriel would lean over and comment on how his voice simply didn't come close to Mario Lanza's. Of course, she was right.