Gaqo Çako (24 January 1935 – 1 August 2018) was an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, awarded with the

People's Artist of Albania The People's Artist () was an honorary title for outstanding art performers of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, whose merits were exceptional in the sphere of development of the performing arts (theatre, music, cinema and art). It was c ...

title. He has been ranked among the best opera singers of Albania, along with Ramiz Kovaçi and Mentor Xhemali.

Career

Çako was born in 1935 in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...

, southern

, where he spent his early childhood. His family then moved to

Kuçovë Kuçovë ( sq-definite, Kuçova) is a municipality in south-central Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kozare, Kuçovë, Lumas and Perondi, which all became municipal units. The se ...

, and eventually he enrolled in the

Jordan Misja Artistic Lyceum The Jordan Misja Artistic Lyceum ( sq, Liceu Artistik Jordan Misja) is an artistic school in Tirana, Albania, for youth from 6 to 18 years old. Established in 1946, it included music, ballet, dramatic arts, painting and sculpting classes. Today it ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. Çako studied during 1957–1961 in the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

under Anna Soloviova. In 1961, after returning to Albania, he started to work at the

National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania The National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania (Albanian: ''Teatri Kombëtar i Operas dhe Baletit - TKOB'') is a theatre in Tirana, Albania. It is the largest theatre in the country, and hosts music and dance performances year round. History ...

, where he would become the leading tenor for the three ensuing decades. He also pursued a specialization degree in the 1960s at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In his career, he performed lead singing roles in Bellini's ''

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, Lazi ...

'', Verdi's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' and

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 cont ...

, and Puccini's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'', among others. He appeared in operas by Albanian composers, such as

Mrika ''Mrika'' (''Maria'') is an opera in three acts composed by Prenkë Jakova with a libretto in Albanian by Llazar Siliqi. It premiered (in a four-act version) in Shkoder, Albania in 1958 at the Migjeni Theatre. The revised three-act version (and ...

Prenkë Jakova Prenk Jakova (27 June 191719 September 1969) was an Albanian composer, musician, and author of ''Mrika'' (1958), which is considered the first Albanian opera. A native of Shkodër, he studied under Martin Gjoka and Zef Kurti, and he was also an ...

, ''Lulja e kujtimit'' () by

Kristo Kono Kristo Kono (17 July 1907 – 22 January 1991) was an Albanian composer and recipient of the People's Artist title in 1961, the highest artistic recognition title during the communist era. He was one of the early contributors to Albanian music ...

, ''Pranvera'' () by

Tish Daija Tish Daija (Shkodër, 30 January 1926 – 3 October 2003) was an Albanian composer. He composed the first Albanian ballet ''Halili dhe Hajria'' (Halili and Hajria) that premiered on 13 January 1963 and has since been shown more than 250 times at ...

, ''Heroina'' () by Vangjo Nova, ''Skënderbeu'' () by Prenkë Jakova, ''Bijtë e Skënderbeut'' () by , ''Komisari'' () by

Nikolla Zoraqi Nikolla Zoraqi (19281991; rup, Nicolla Zorachi) was a composer from Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is loca ...

, ''Zgjimi'' () by

Tonin Harapi Tonin Harapi (June 9, 1926 – July 30, 1992) was an Albanian composer and teacher. He was born in Shkodër, Albania. He studied composition in Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Мос ...

, and ''Toka e jonë'' (), by . He was well known on Italian stages as well. Although Çako was an opera tenor, he became popular through 28 participations at the

Festivali i Këngës Festivali i Këngës (; ), also referred to as simply FiK, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, it has also determ ...

, and won first prizes in the 1967, 1970, and 1978 editions.

Personal life

Çako's wife, Luiza Papa, was a notable opera singer. Their only son,

Pirro Çako Pirro Çako is an Albanian singer and composer. In 1988, he won the Festivali i Këngës as a composer with the song ''E duam lumturinë'' ( en, We love happiness). The song was interpreted by Parashqevi Simaku. He has issued two albums: ''Her� ...

, is a singer as well. Gaqo Çako was father-in-law of international soprano

Inva Mula Inva Mula (born 27 June 1963) is an Albanian opera lyric soprano. She began her soprano career at a very early age. Her father (Avni Mula) and mother () were also opera singers. She is also known for providing the voice of the diva Plavalaguna in ...

, daughter of composer

Avni Mula Avni Mula (Gjakova, 4 January 1928 – Tirana, 29 October 2020) was an Albanian singer, composer, and musician. For his contribution to the arts, he received two of the highest awards from the Albanian government: the People's Artist of Albani ...

, until Pirro and Inva divorced.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Çako, Gaqo 1935 births 2018 deaths People from Korçë Merited Artists of Albania Albanian operatic tenors 20th-century Albanian male opera singers People's Artists of Albania Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni Çako family 21st-century Albanian male opera singers Festivali i Këngës winners