The dark, delicate and demure beauty of an Anna Maria Alberghetti is
what one envisions a princess to look like and, indeed, she did have a
chance to play a couple in her lifetime. Reminding one instantly of the
equally enchanting Pier Angeli, Anna Maria's Cinderella story did not take
on a tragic storybook ending as it did for Ms. Angeli. On the contrary,
Anna Maria continues to delight audiences today on many levels,
particularly on the concert and lecture stages.
She was born in a musical home in Pesaro, Italy, in 1936, the daughter
of a concertmaster father and pianist mother. They greatly influenced
her obvious talent and by age six she was performing with symphony
orchestras with her father as her vocal instructor. World War II had
forced the Alberghettis from their homeland and after performing in a
European tour, Anna Maria's pure operatic tones reached American ears
via her Carnegie Hall debut at age 14. The family decided to settle
permanently in the States. The teenager went on to perform with
numerous symphony orchestras during this time.
In 1950 Paramount saw a bright future in the making. Within a short
time she was capturing hearts on film, making a magical debut in the
eerie but hypnotic Gian Carlo Menotti's chamber opera Das Medium (1951). Opposite the
magnificent Marie Powers in the title role as the fraudulent Madame Flora,
Anna Maria was directed by Menotti himself in the
independently-produced film. While the movie was appreciated in art
house form, Paramount wasted no time in placing the photogenic Anna
into mainstream filming. Her budding talent was strangely used,
however. She had an extended operatic solo in the breezy Capraesque
Bing Crosby/Jane Wyman comedy Hochzeitsparade (1951), and played a Polish émigré befriended
by a singer (played by Rosemary Clooney) who discovers the girl has musical
talent of her own in the so-so Ein Lied, ein Kuß, ein Mädel (1953). Anna's songs included the
touching "My Kind of Day" and "My Heart Is Home". Thereafter, for some
strange reason, her vocals were not utilized. She acted instead in such
rugged adventures as Die Barrikaden von San Antone (1955) and Durango Kid, der Rächer (1957), and in the fluffy comedy
10.000 Schlafzimmer (1957) opposite Dean Martin. And, in the end, she was lovely but utterly
wasted as the Prince Charming equivalent in the gender-bending Jerry Lewis
farce Aschenblödel (1960). Not only does she arrive late in the film, but Jerry
gave her no songs to sing -- he sang them all!
Extremely disillusioned, Anna Maria departed from films in the early
60s and instead sought out work on the Broadway stage. It was here that
she found that elusive star. Following a role in the operetta "Rose
Marie" in 1960, Anna Maria won the part of a lifetime as the waif-like
Lili in the musical "Carnival", based on Leslie Caron's charming title film
role. Anna Maria was utterly delightful and quite moving in the role
and for her efforts was awarded the Tony Award -- tying in her category
with Diahann Carroll for "No Strings". Anna Maria's sister Carla replaced her
when she left the show. Throughout the 60s she continued to impress in
musical ingénue showcases -- the title role in "Fanny" (1963), Maria in
"West Side Story" (1964), Marsinah in "Kismet" (1967) (which was
televised), and Luisa in "The Fantasticks" (1968), to name but a few.
As she matured, she made a mark in other facets of entertainment. On TV
Ed Sullivan first introduced Anna Maria to millions of households and the
public was thoroughly taken by this singing angel. She appeared with
Sullivan a near-record 53 times. She also graced a number of popular TV
shows with non-singing, damsel-in-distress roles on such shows as
"Wagon Train" and "Checkmate". Her recording career has included
associations with Capitol, Columbia, Mercury and MGM Records.
In 1964, Anna married TV director/producer Claudio Guzmán who was almost a
decade older. The ten-year marriage produced two daughters, Alexandra
and Pilar. She began to downplay her career after this in favor of
parenting, particularly after her divorce in 1974.
Returning to the theater on occasion, Anna Maria later reintroduced
herself back into TV households as the housewife/pitchwoman for "Good
Seasons" salad dressing. Her one-woman stage show led to her interest
as a cabaret performer. More recent film appearances have included fun
roles in the comedies Friends and Family (2001) and Feuerwerk auf Italienisch (2001).
