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 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 performan ...

in Milan during the 1950s, when EMI produced the bulk of its studio recordings featuring

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

. Though Votto was a dependable conductor (and the teacher of

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale i ...

), 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 Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy * Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Laz ...

'' (December 1955, La Scala) and ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by ...

'' (1957, Cologne) are considered to be great performances. Among his pupils was soprano

Claudia Pinza Bozzolla Claudia Pinza Bozzolla (July 27, 1925 in Buenos Aires, Argentina – August 3, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an Argentine-American operatic soprano, vocal coach, and voice teacher of Italian origin. As a singer she performed in operas thr ...

Commercial discography

* Ponchielli: ''La Gioconda'' (Callas, Barbieri, Amadini, Poggi, Silveri, Neri; 1952)

Cetra Cetra, a Latin word borrowed from Greek, is an Italian descendant of ''κιθάρα'' (cithara). It is a synonym for the cittern but has been used for the citole and cithara (the lyre-form) and cythara (the lyre-form developing into a necked ins ...

* Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Callas, Moffo, di Stefano, Panerai, Zaccaria; 1956) EMI * Verdi: ''Un ballo in maschera'' (Callas, Ratti, Barbieri, di Stefano, Gobbi; 1956) EMI * Bellini: ''La sonnambula'' (Callas, Ratti, Monti, Zaccaria; 1957) EMI * Ponchielli: ''La Gioconda'' (Callas, Cossotto, Companeez, Ferraro, Cappuccilli, Vinco; 1959) EMI * Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Scotto, Poggi, Gobbi, Modesti; 1961)

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family o ...

* Verdi: ''La traviata'' (Scotto, G.Raimondi, Bastianini; 1962) Deutsche Grammophon

References

* ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', by John Warrack and Ewan West,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1996. 1896 births 1985 deaths Italian male conductors (music) 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians {{Italy-conductor-stub