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Ugo Savarese
Ugo Savarese (2 December 1912, Naples – 19 December 1997, Genoa) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Savarese began his vocal studies in 1930 at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples with Maestro Conte. He made his stage debut in 1934, at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, singing small roles. He sang his first major role, Pagliacci, Silvio, there in 1938, followed by Rigoletto and La traviata, Germont. Like most singers of his generation, his career was interrupted by military service. He resumed his career after being a prisoner in a German war camp. From then on, his career steadily progressed, with guest appearances at both the Opéra-Comique and the Palais Garnier in Paris, the Teatro Nacional Sao Carlos in Lisbon, the Liceu in Barcelona, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and also appearing in London, Monte Carlo, Zurich, Brussels, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), etc., where he was particularly appreciated in Verdi roles. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's administrative limits as of 2022. Its province-level municipality is the third-most populous metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 3,115,320 residents, and its metropolitan area stretches beyond the boundaries of the city wall for approximately 20 miles. Founded by Greeks in the first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the eighth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope ( grc, Παρθενόπη) was established on the Pizzofalcone hill. In the sixth century BC, it was refounded as Neápolis. The city was an important part of Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society, and was a significant cultural centre under the Romans. Naples served a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. Today the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world; at New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, ''Aida'' has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886. Ghislanzoni's scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera. Elements of the opera's genesis and sources Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write an opera to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, but Verdi declined. However, Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, proposed to Khedive Pasha a plot for a celebratory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli (8 April 1921 – 29 October 2003) was an Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was celebrated universally for his powerhouse voice, electrifying top notes, clear timbre, passionate singing and remarkable performances. Dubbed the "prince of tenors", audiences were enchanted by his handsome features and charismatic stage presence. He had a long and fruitful partnership with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City between 1961 and 1975. He also appeared on the stages of most of the major opera houses in Europe and with opera companies throughout North America. Biography Early life and education: 1921–1950 Corelli was born Dario Franco Corelli in Ancona into a family some say had little or no musical background. While his parents were not particularly musical, his paternal grandfather Augusto had actually quit working at 35 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonino Votto
Antonino Votto, sometimes spelled Antonio Votto, (30 October 1896 – 9 September 1985) was an Italian operatic conductor and vocal coach. Votto developed an extensive discography with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the 1950s, when EMI produced the bulk of its studio recordings featuring Maria Callas. Though Votto was a dependable conductor (and the teacher of Riccardo Muti), critics frequently faulted his recordings for their lack of emotional immediacy. This may have been an occupational hazard of working in the studio, as his live sets with Callas, including a ''Norma'' (December 1955, La Scala) and ''La sonnambula'' (1957, Cologne) are considered to be great performances. Among his pupils was soprano Claudia Pinza Bozzolla. Commercial discography * Ponchielli: ''La Gioconda'' (Callas, Barbieri, Amadini, Poggi, Silveri, Neri; 1952) Cetra * Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Callas, Moffo, di Stefano, Panerai, Zaccaria; 1956) EMI * Verdi: ''Un ballo in maschera'' (Callas, Rat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gigliola Frazzoni
Gigliola Frazzoni (22 February 1923 – 3 December 2016) was an Italian operatic soprano. She was born in Bologna, where she studied with Blanche Marchesi and Olivio Secchiaroli, and made her debut at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, as Mimi in ''La bohème''. She quickly enjoyed considerable success at major opera houses throughout Italy, Turin, Venice, Parma, Palermo, Rome and Milan, etc. She was a regular guest at the Verona Arena from 1956 to 1972. On 26 January 1957 she took part in the world premiere of Francis Poulenc's ''Dialogues des Carmélites'', as Mère Marie, at La Scala in Milan. Beginning in 1954, she also sang outside Italy, notably in Cairo, Munich, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, Zurich, Vienna, Bordeaux, Dublin, etc. She was admired in dramatic roles, especially by Verdi and Puccini and some other verismo composers such as Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano. She can be heard on a complete recording of ''Tosca'', opposite Ferruccio Tagliavini and Giangiacomo Guelfi and in J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor De Sabata
Victor de Sabata (10 April 1892 – 11 December 1967) was an Italian conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi, Puccini and Wagner. De Sabata was acclaimed for his interpretations of orchestral music. Like his near contemporary Wilhelm Furtwängler, de Sabata regarded composition as more important than conducting but achieved more lasting recognition for his conducting than his compositions. De Sabata has been praised by various authors and critics as a rival to Toscanini for the title of greatest Italian conductor of the twentieth century, and even as "perhaps the greatest conductor in the world". In 1918, aged 26, de Sabata was appointed conductor of the Monte Carlo Opera, performing a wide variety of late-19th century and contemporary works, and earning acclaim from Maurice Ravel. De Sabata became the music director at La Scala in Milan, a post he would hold for over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi (10 February 19235 July 2010) was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, a full, resonant, wide-ranging lower register with relaxed vibrato, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. Although renowned as a Verdian bass, his tall, striking presence and the elegance of phrasing made him a natural for the role of Don Giovanni. He can be seen in that role on Paul Czinner's 1954 film of the opera made during an edition of the Salzburg Festival under the baton of Wilhelm Furtwängler. Early career Born in Milan (his year of birth is debated between 1919 and 1923, though 1923 is given as official), he began singing as a member of a madrigal group. He often claimed to have been largely self-taught, having attended the music conservatory in his home city for just a short time. His operatic career was interrupted by World War II. After his debut in 1941 (in S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirto Picchi
Mirto Picchi (15 March 1915, San Mauro, near Florence - 25 September 1980, Florence) was an Italian dramatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, and with contemporary works. Picchi studied in Milan with Giulia Tess and Giuseppe Armani, and made his debut there as Radamès in ''Aïda'', in 1946. Later, the tenor sang Radamès again at the Teatro alla Scala (opposite Maria Caniglia, then Herva Nelli, 1948), ''Andrea Chénier'' (with Renata Tebaldi and Enzo Mascherini, 1948), ''Fidelio'' (with Delia Rigal, 1949), ''Boris Godounov'' (as the Pretender, with Boris Christoff, 1949), ''Raskolnikov'' (1950), ''Lucrezia Borgia'' (opposite Caterina Mancini and Miriam Pirazzini, 1951), ''The Rake's Progress'' (with Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, 1951), ''Proserpina y el Extranjero'' (1952), ''Wozzeck'' (as the Drum Major, with Tito Gobbi and Dorothy Dow, conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos, 1952), ''Cagliostro'' (1953), ''Der Freischütz'' (with Victoria de los Ángele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elena Nicolai
Stoyanka Savova Nikolova ( bg, Стоянка Савова Николова), best known by her stage name Elena Nicolai ( bg, Елена Николай) (24 January 1905 – 24 October 1993), was a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano. Early life and training Nicolai was born in the village of Tzerovo, Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. She spent her childhood in another Bulgarian town, Panagurishte. At the age of 19, she moved to Milan to study opera, first with Vincenzo Pintorno and later with Ettore Pozzoli. Operatic career She made her operatic debut as Maddalena in Verdi's ''Rigoletto'' in 1932. She spent 20 seasons as a leading mezzo-soprano at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. After her retirement from opera, she became an actress and had a short film career, starring in seven movies in the period between 1963-68. She recorded complete operas for RAI and EMI: Eboli in ''Don Carlos'' with Antonietta Stella, Boris Christoff, and Tito Gobbi stands out among the others, which include t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herva Nelli
Herva Nelli (January 9, 1909May 31, 1994) was an Italian-American operatic soprano. Biography Named after the French socialist Gustave Hervé, she was born in Florence, where she attended a convent school. At the age of ten, however, she and her family left Italy for the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she later studied at the Pittsburgh Music Institute. In 1937, the soprano made her operatic debut with Brooklyn's Salmaggi Opera, as Santuzza in Mascagni's ''Cavalleria rusticana''. In ensuing seasons, she gained experience with that ensemble, presenting roles that would form the core of her repertoire, including Leonora in Verdi's '' La forza del destino'' (with Sydney Rayner as Don Alvaro, 1943) and another Leonora in Verdi's ''Il trovatore''. She also sang the title roles of Bellini's ''Norma'', Verdi's ''Aida'' (with Bernardo de Muro at the end of his career, 1944), and Ponchielli's '' La Gioconda''. In 1947, she made her New York City Opera de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa riconosciuta''. Most of Italy's greatest operatic artists, and many of the finest singers from around the world, have appeared at La Scala. The theatre is regarded as one of the leading opera and ballet theatres globally. It is home to the La Scala Theatre Chorus, La Scala Theatre Ballet, La Scala Theatre Orchestra, and the Filarmonica della Scala orchestra. The theatre also has an associate school, known as the La Scala Theatre Academy ( it, Accademia Teatro alla Scala, links=no), which offers professional training in music, dance, stagecraft, and stage management. Overview La Scala's season opens on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint. All performances must end befor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
