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 EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

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), 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 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 ...

) and '' La sonnambula'' (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 language, 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 i ...

* 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 * 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 books ...

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