A soprano and an impresario of international renown, Emma Carelli (1877-1928) is a notorious and mystified case of woman of power. She was an outstanding figure both as an artist and a businesswoman with a fascinating and rich biography. Therefore, it is no surprise that her life has fostered in the last century myths and sometimes-unreliable reconstructions. Drawing upon uncharted documents preserved at the Historical Diplomatic Archive of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Central State Archive of Rome, the paper adjusts Carelli in a more reliable perspective, as a key but problematic figure in the development of the international theatrical commerce, and as one of the most important female impresarios in Italian theatre history
