Born in New York City, Ciannella earned a
Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from
Queens College, City University of New York. A
Fulbright Scholarship enabled her to pursue further studies in voice at the
Mozarteum University of Salzburg in Austria. In 1951 Ciannella was the soprano soloist in Haydn's
Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo with the Interracial Fellowship Chorus (IFC) under conductor
Harold Aks at
Town Hall in Manhattan. In 1955 she performed the role of the Israelite woman in Handel's
Judas Maccabaeus with
Walter Carringer in the title role,
Betty Allen as the Israelite messenger, the IFC, and Aks conducting. That same year she was a featured soloist in a concert of Monteverdi's
Vespro della Beata Vergine at Carnegie Hall with the
Dessoff Choirs under conductor Paul Boeppl. In 1963 she was the soprano soloist in Handel's
Messiah with The Masterwork Chorus and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall under conductor Thomas Dunn. Ciannella worked in Germany as an opera singer; performing mostly Italian repertoire as a resident artist at opera houses like the
Staatstheater Braunschweig,
Theater Bonn, and
Theater Dortmund. As a member of the latter institution, she appeared in the title role of Donizetti's
Lucia di Lammermoor in 1964. In a
Jugendkonzert (Concert for young people) in the
Marienkirche, offering music by Bach, Marcello and Purcell, she performed on 22 November 1965 Bach's solo cantata
Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke, BWV 84, conducted by
Hans Herbert Jöris. In the 1968–69 season, she performed Leonora in Verdi's
Il trovatore as a guest artist. She also performed as a guest artist in leading roles with the
Berlin State Opera, the
Cologne Opera, the
Oper Frankfurt, the
Hamburg State Opera and the
Vienna State Opera. Ciannella returned to the U.S. in 1969 to teach at the Florida State University. In Florida, she appeared in 1974 as Leonora in
Il trovatore, and in the title roles of Puccini's
Madama Butterfly and
Suor Angelica. In recital, she performed
Lieder by Schubert, Wolf and Ravel. == Recording ==