Teresa Celli

Teresa Mara Levis (June 6, 1923 – October 30, 1999), better known as Teresa Celli, was an American lyric soprano who apprenticed at La Scala before achieving recognition in films such as The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and Black Hand (1950). Formative years and family Celli was born on June 6, 1923, as Teresa Levis in Dysart, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of ten children born to an Italian family, she relocated with her family to Milan, Italy when she was just five years old because her father had inherited an estate there. Her grandmother, Maria Scagnet, and her great-grandmother, Mme. Duval Celli, both sang opera, and it was from the latter that Teresa Levis took her professional last name, "Celli." While she lived in Italy, Celli was a student of soprano Ersilde Cervi Caroli. Under his mentorship, she became active in both opera and dramatic productions. Sometime during World War II, she returned to the United States, but then returned to Italy when the war ended.