Hipòlit Lázaro (September 13, 1887 – May 14, 1974), better known as Hipólito Lázaro, was a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

-Spanish opera singer. He was active as an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

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 ...

for four decades from 1910 through 1950.

Biography

Lázaro was born in

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 ...

, Spain on September 13, 1887. He made his professional debut in 1910 at Teatre Novedades in

in ''

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 ...

''. His Italian debut occurred in late 1910 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 ...

'' at the Teatro Tosi-Borghi in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

. During the summer of 1911, he appeared under the pseudonym Antonio Manuele in a series of concerts held in England. Lázaro built his career primarily on

verismo In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an ...

roles, Verdi operas. He performed in ''Rigoletto'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'', and ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'', Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', some

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

roles such as ''La favorite'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

'' and Spanish

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

(Arrieta's ''Marina'', in particular). He created the tenor roles in Mascagni's ''

Parisina ''Parisina'' is a 586-line poem written by Lord Byron. It was probably written between 1812 and 1815, and published on 13 February 1816. It is based on a story related by Edward Gibbon in his '' Miscellaneous Works'' (1796) about Niccolò III d ...

'' (1913,

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 ''

Il piccolo Marat ''Il piccolo Marat'' is a ''dramma lirico'' or opera in three acts by the Italian composer Pietro Mascagni from a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. Performance history The opera was first performed on 2 May 1921 at the Teatro Costanzi, Rome and th ...

'' (1921, Costanzi), and Romani's ''Fedra'' (1915, Costanzi). While in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1924, he received a letter from

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, ''Marina ...

, asking him to create the tenor role in his next opera, ''

La cena delle beffe ''La cena delle beffe'' (''The Jesters' Supper'') is an opera in four acts composed by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Sem Benelli adapted from his 1909 play of the same name. The opera premiered on 20 December 1924 at La Scala. Mil ...

''. The opera's premiere was held in December 1924 at La Scala under the baton of

Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

. The second part of Lázaro's career, stretching from the mid-1920s to his final appearances in 1950, consisted of concerts and performances in Spain, Paris, and Italy. He also made various trips to South America, where he was very popular, especially in Cuba. His repertoire became narrower and narrower from the 1930s onwards, and his voice showed clear signs of decline. Nonetheless, he conserved some of his glory and acclaim through his zarzuela performances. During the 1930s he starred in the zarzuelas, ''Curro Vargas'', ''

Doña Francisquita ''Doña Francisquita'' is a zarzuela in three acts composed by Amadeo Vives to a Spanish libretto by Federico Romero and Guillermo Fernández-Shaw and based on Lope de Vega's play ' (''The Ingenious Lover''). With its colourful score and com ...

'', ''La Tempestad'', and the Spanish operas, Bretón's ''

La Dolores ''La Dolores'' is a Spanish opera (''ópera Española'') in 3 acts by Tomás Bretón. The libretto was arranged by composer himself from a same-name drama by Josep Feliu i Codina (1892). The opera was first performed at the Teatro de la Zarzuela ...

'' (1895), Vives' ''Euda d'Uriach'' (1934) and Gaig's ''El estudiante de Salamanca'' (1935). He officially retired from the stage in 1940, but continued to give occasional performances thereafter. Lázaro's last performance was in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 1950 with the ''Marina'', ''Aida'' and ''Rigoletto''. After his retirement, he wrote two books: his autobiography, ''El libro de mi vida'' (1968, ''The book of my life''), and ''Mi método de canto'' (1947, ''My singing method''), a didactical work for student tenors. He died 24 years after his last performances on May 14, 1974 in his native Barcelona. He was 87.

Legacy

Lázaro had a "wide-ranging, timbred, considerably vibrant, extended, bold, resilient even if slightly guttural voice," according to Paolo Padovan, with a brilliant metallic shine and a passionate approach to singing. When he sang at the Metropolitan Opera House he was overshadowed by

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

, to whom he was compared. He also maintained a strong rivalry with Aragonese tenor

Miguel Fleta Miguel Burro Fleta (28 December 1897, in Albalate de Cinca, Province of Huesca, Aragon – 29 May 1938, in A Coruña) was a Spanish operatic tenor. Despite his short stage career, lasting from 1919 to 1935, Fleta has been described as one of the ...

References

External links

Hipólito Lázaro biography
at Opera Vivrà
History of the Tenor / Hipólito Lázaro / Sound Clips and Narration

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazaro, Hipolito 1887 births 1974 deaths Spanish operatic tenors Opera singers from Catalonia Singers from Barcelona 20th-century Spanish male opera singers

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links