Dino Dondi (10 July 1925 – 3 March 2007) was an Italian operatic baritone.

Life

Like many Bolognese, Dondi had a passion for opera and after studying singing as an autodidact, he met a master who recognised his vocal talent. At the beginning of the 1950s, after singing in theatres in Emilia, including Bologna, Dondi moved to Milan and in 1954 made his debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Verdis' ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

''. Shortly afterwards, he was called by La Scala, where he sang, among other operas, in '' Iphigénie en Tauride'' by Christoph Willibald Gluck under the direction of

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...

, with Maria Callas and the direction of

Nino Sanzogno Nino Sanzogno (13 April 1911 – 4 May 1983) was an Italian conductor and composer. Life Sanzogno was born in Venice, where he studied the violin with Hermann Scherchen and composition with Gian Francesco Malipiero at the Liceo Musicale. He late ...

(1957), and in Verdi's '' Macbeth'', conducted by

Thomas Schippers Thomas Schippers (9 March 1930 – 16 December 1977) was an American conductor. He was highly regarded for his work in opera. Biography Of Dutch ancestry and son of the owner of a large appliance store, Schippers was born in Portage, Michiga ...

(1958). He married Irène Companeez,

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

. Dondi died in the French department of

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Bastè, ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefecture'' (capital city) of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located o ...

at the age of 81.

Recordings

* 1955: ''Don Sebastiano'' ( Gaetano Donizetti), Carlo Maria Giulini conducting, role: Abaialdo * 1957: ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (Christoph Willibald Gluck), Nino Sanzogno conducting, role: Oreste * 1958: '' Assassinio nella cattedrale'' (

Ildebrando Pizzetti Ildebrando Pizzetti (20 September 1880 – 13 February 1968) was an Italian composer of classical music, musicologist, and music critic. Biography Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" along with Ottorino ...

Gianandrea Gavazzeni Gianandrea Gavazzeni (25 July 19095 February 1996) was an Italian pianist, conductor (especially of opera), composer and musicologist. Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Sca ...

conducting, role: Terzo Sacerdote * 1959:

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

by Donizetti, RAI TV Milano, Fernando Previtali conducting, role: Lord Enrico Ashton * 1960: '' La Wally'' ( Alfredo Catalani), Arturo Basile conducting, role: Vincenzo Gellner dell'Hochstoff * 1960: ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, "Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, J ...

'' (Giuseppe Verdi), conducting, role: Nabucodonosor * 1961: '' Beatrice di Tenda'' by Vincenzo Bellini, Antonino Votto conducting, role: Filippo Maria Visconti * 1966: ''

I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

'' by Vincenzo Bellini, Arturo Basile conducting, role: Sir Riccardo Forth * 1969: '' Andrea Chénier'' (

Umberto Giordano Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples. His first opera, ''Mari ...

), Anton Guadagno conducting, role: Carlo Gérard Catalogo da Operaclass.com
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dondi, Dino Italian baritones 1925 births 2007 deaths Musicians from Bologna 20th-century Italian male opera singers