Gianni Poggi (October 4, 1921 – December 16, 1989) was an Italian

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 ...

, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Biography

Born in

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, Poggi studied first in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

with

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Valeria Manna, and later in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

with

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Emilio Ghirardini. He made his debut in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, as Rodolfo, in 1947. He first sang at

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 ...

in 1948 and appeared there until 1965, his roles included:

Riccardo Riccardo is a male given name, Italian version of Ricardo or Richard. It also may be a surname. It means "Powerful Leader". It may refer to: People A–L *Riccardo Antoniazzi (1853–1912), Italian violin maker *Riccardo Bacchelli (1891–1985 ...

Enzo Enzo is an Italian given name derivative of the German name Heinz. It can be used also as the short form for Lorenzo, Vincenzo, Innocenzo, or Fiorenzo. It is most common in the Romance-speaking world, particularly in Italy and Latin Americ ...

Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

Edgardo Edgardo is an Italian-language form of the name Edgar. It may refer to: * Edgardo Abdala (born 1978), Chilean-Palestinian football midfielder * Edgardo Adinolfi (born 1974), Uruguayan football player *Edgardo Alfonzo (born 1973), former Major Lea ...

, Duca di Mantua,

Alfredo Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: * Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda F ...

, Cavaradossi, etc. He also sang at all the major opera houses throughout Italy, notably in Florence in 1955, in a revival of

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

's '' Dom Sebastien''. He portrayed the role of

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...

at Arena of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

in 1949 and in his home town

in 1963 (both sung in Italian). Poggi made his debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

in 1955, in ''

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 ...

'', opposite

Robert Merrill Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting an ...

and

Roberta Peters Roberta Peters (May 4, 1930 – January 18, 2017) was an American coloratura soprano. One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Oper ...

. He returned for further performances in 1957: ''Rigoletto'' again (now with

Leonard Warren Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911 – March 4, 1960) was an American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Especially noted for his portrayals of the leading baritone roles in ...

), ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' (opposite Antonietta Stella and

Walter Cassel Walter Cassel (May 15, 1910 – July 3, 2000) was an American operatic baritone and actor. He began his career singing on the radio during the mid-1930s and appeared in a couple of Hollywood musical films in the late 1930s. He made his first stag ...

, conducted by

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

), ''

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 ...

'' (with

Licia Albanese Licia Albanese (July 22, 1909 – August 15, 2014) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 ...

and

Ettore Bastianini Ettore Bastianini (24 September 1922 – 25 January 1967) was an Italian operatic baritone who was particularly associated with the operas of the ''bel canto'' tradition. Early training and career as a bass Born in Siena, Bastianini first bega ...

, 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 ...

), ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (with

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she 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 ...

'' (opposite

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. O ...

), and '' La Gioconda'' (with

Zinka Milanov Zinka Milanov (; May 17, 1906 – May 30, 1989) was a Croatian operatic dramatic soprano who had a major career centered on the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After finishing her education in Zagreb, Milanov made her debut in 1927 in Ljublj ...

, Leonard Warren, Cesare Siepi and

Regina Resnik Regina Resnik (born Regina Resnick, August 30, 1922 – August 8, 2013) was an American opera singer who had an active international career that spanned five decades. She began her career as a soprano in 1942 and soon after began a lengthy and ...

). He was a regular guest at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

from 1959 to 1964, also appearing at the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

and

Monte Carlo Opera Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

. He retired from the stage in 1969, his last role being

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

Boito Arrigo Boito (; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) (whose original name was Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito and who wrote essays under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Tobia Gorrio) was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, librettist and composer, bes ...

's ''

Mefistofele ''Mefistofele'' () is an opera in a prologue and five acts, later reduced to four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was libret ...

''. Poggi had a fine

spinto Spinto (from Italian, "pushed") is a vocal term used to characterize a soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals. (Sometimes the terms ' or ' a ...

tenor voice, occasionally inclined to hardness, enabling him to sing both lyric and dramatic roles.

Discography

Studio recordings

* Donizetti: ''

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 Lammermoor''. ...

'' ( Wilson, Colzani; Capuana, 1951) Urania * Boito: ''

'' ( Neri, Noli; Capuana, 1952) Urania * Puccini: ''

'' ( Guerrini, Silveri; Molinari-Pradelli, 1952) Cetra * Ponchielli: '' La Gioconda'' ( Callas,

Barbieri Barbieri is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alberto Barbieri, Argentine academic * Antonio María Barbieri (1892–1979), Uruguayan Cardinal * Anthony Barbieri (born 1963), American writer and performer * Domenico ...

, Silveri, Neri; Votto, 1952) Cetra * Verdi: ''

'' ( Tebaldi, Protti; Molinari-Pradelli, 1954)

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

* Donizetti: ''

La favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', sometimes referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le comt ...

'' ( Simionato, Bastianini, Hines; Erede, 1955) Decca * Puccini: ''

'' (Stella, Capecchi, Modesti; Molinari-Pradelli, 1957) Philips * Puccini: ''Tosca'' (Stella,

Taddei Taddei is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alessandro De Taddei (born 1971), Italian speed skater *Claudio Taddei (1966–2019), Uruguayan-Swiss singer-songwriter and painter *Frédéric Taddeï (born 1961), French jour ...

; Serafin, 1957) Philips * Mascagni: ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...

'' ( Mancini, Protti; Rapalo, 1958) Philips * Leoncavallo: ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'' (Beltrami, Protti; Rapalo, 1958) Philips * Verdi: ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. The ...

'' (Stella, Bastianini, Lazzarini; Gavazzeni, 1960)

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 of ...

* Puccini: ''La bohème'' ( Scotto, Gobbi, Modesti; Votto, 1961) Deutsche Grammophon

Selected live performances

* ''La Bohème'' (highlights), La Scala 1949 (

Margherita Carosio Margherita Carosio (7 June 1908 – 10 January 2005) was an Italian operatic soprano. Her voice is preserved in many Parlophone and Ultraphon recordings made before World War II, as well as a memorable series made for HMV in London, beginning in ...

, Paolo Silveri, Alda Noni;

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 ...

) ed. Cetra/Myto * ''Tosca'' (highlights), Rio 1951 (Maria Callas, Paolo Silveri; Antonino Votto) ed. Voce/Archipel * ''La bohème'',

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

1954 (Renata Tebaldi,

Manuel Ausensi Manuel Ausensi i Albalat (; 8 October 1919 – 1 September 2005) was a Catalan baritone opera singer. Ausensi was born in Barcelona. During the Spanish Civil War, he studied singing in Valencia and then in the Municipal Conservatory of Barcel ...

, Ornella Rovero, Giulio Neri; Ugo Rapalo) ed. Premiere Opera * '' Dom Sebastien'', Firenze 1955 (Fedora Barbieri, Giulio Neri, Enzo Mascherini;

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

) ed. Cetra/MRF/Walhall *''La Gioconda'', Met 1957 (

, Nell Rankin, Cesare Siepi; Fausto Cleva) ed. Arkadia/Walhall * ''Mefistofele'', La Scala 1958 (Cesare Siepi, Anna De Cavalieri, Cesy Broggini,

Fiorenza Cossotto Fiorenza Cossotto (born 22 April 1935) is an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano. Life and career Born on 22 April 1935, in Crescentino, Province of Vercelli, Italy, Cossotto attended the Turin Academy of Music and studied with Mercedes Llopart. Sh ...

; Antonino Votto) ed. Cetra/Melodram/Gala

Videography

* Puccini: ''Tosca'' (Tebaldi,

Guelfi The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

; Basile) 1961 ive-TokioVAI * Verdi: ''Rigoletto'' (Protti, Tucci; Basile) 1961 ive-TokioVAI

Sources

* ''Grove Music Online'', Elizabeth Forbes, Oxford University Press, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Poggi, Gianni 1921 births 1989 deaths People from Piacenza Italian operatic tenors 20th-century Italian male opera singers