Luigi Ricci (1893–1981) was an Italian assistant conductor,

accompanist Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of ...

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often a ...

, and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Career

Ricci began studying music as a child and at age twelve started accompanying voice lessons given by the famous baritone Antonio Cotogni, who had performed several of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's operas under the composer's supervision. At this early age, Ricci began taking meticulous notes on traditions, which Cotogni was passing on to him from work with 19th-century composers and conductors. Ricci became an assistant conductor with the Rome Opera House and in that capacity worked eight years with

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

and thirty-four years with

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...

. Other composers with whom he was associated include Ottorino Respighi,

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 ...

Riccardo Zandonai Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he entered the Pesaro Conserv ...

, and

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

. Among the many great conductors with whom he worked were

Gino Marinuzzi Gino Marinuzzi (24 March 188217 August 1945) was an Italian conductor and composer, particularly associated with the operas of Wagner and the Italian repertory. Biography Marinuzzi was born and studied in Palermo, and began his career there a ...

Vittorio Gui Vittorio Gui (14 September 188516 October 1975) was an Italian conductor, composer, musicologist and critic. Gui was born in Rome in 1885. He graduated in humanities at the University of Rome and also studied composition at the Accademia Naziona ...

Ettore Panizza Ettore Panizza (born Héctor Panizza; 12 August 187527 November 1967) was an Argentine conductor and composer, one of the leading conductors of the early 20th century. Panizza possessed technical mastery and was popular and influential during ...

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

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. D ...

; as well as singers such as

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 ...

, Beniamino Gigli,

Toti dal Monte Antonietta Meneghel (27 June 189326 January 1975), better known by her stage name Toti Dal Monte, was a celebrated Italian operatic lyric soprano . She may be best remembered today for her performance as Cio-cio-san in Puccini's ''Madama Butterf ...

Giacomo Lauri-Volpi Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (11 December 1892 – 17 March 1979) was an Italian tenor with a lyric voice of exceptional range and technical facility. He performed throughout Europe and the Americas in a top-class career that spanned 40 years. Caree ...

Maria Caniglia Maria Caniglia (5 May 1905 – 16 April 1979) was one of the leading Italian spinto sopranos of the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Caniglia was born in Naples and studied at the Music Conservatories of Naples with Agostino Roche. She made ...

Tito Gobbi Tito Gobbi (24 October 19135 March 1984) was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation. He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's '' La sonnambula'' and quickly appeared in Italy's major oper ...

to name but a few. The latter, for instance, in his writings speaks very warmly about Ricci as an understanding and profoundly thinking professional. Ricci was the author of a collection of four volumes on "''Variations,

Cadenzas In music, a cadenza (from it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and ofte ...

, and Traditions''", and of two books "''Puccini interprete da se stesso''", and "''34 anni con Pietro Mascagni''". He collaborated on the musical direction of forty-two films and on numerous opera recordings with

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. Ricci was also active as a vocal coach 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 ...

, where he taught (amongst many others)

Sesto Bruscantini Sesto Bruscantini (10 December 1919 – 4 May 2003) was an Italian baritone, one of the greatest buffo singers of the post-war era, especially renowned in Mozart and Rossini. Biography and career Bruscantini was born in Civitanova Marche, Marche, ...

, Richard Miller, Anna Moffo,

Rosalind Elias Rosalind Elias (March 13, 1930 – May 3, 2020) was an American mezzo-soprano who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera. She was best known for creating the role of Erika in Samuel Barber's '' Vanessa in'' 1958. Early ...

Ezio Flagello Ezio Domenico Flagello (January 28, 1931 – March 19, 2009) was born in New York City to Italian Americans. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1957 to 1984; a bass particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Career Flagello firs ...

Joanna Bruno Joanna Mary Bruno (born. 1944, West Orange, New Jersey), also known as Joanna Bruno-Clarke, is an American operatic soprano who had an active international career during the 1960s and 1970s. A lyric soprano, she often performed in operas by Giacom ...

Peter Lindroos Paul Peter Christer Lindroos (26 February 1944 – 17 November 2003) was a Finnish opera singer who appeared in leading tenor roles throughout Europe but was particularly associated with the Finnish National Opera and the Royal Danish Opera. Alth ...

, and

Martti Wallén Martti Wallén (born 20 November 1948) is a Finnish operatic bass singer. Born in Helsinki, he sang both internationally and in his native country where he was a visiting soloist at the Finnish National Opera for many years. He created the role of ...

Selected works

Compositions *''Variazioni-Cadenze Tradizioni per Canto''. Vol. I: Voci Femminili (

Ricordi Ricordi may refer to: People *Giovanni Ricordi (1785–1853), Italian violinist and publishing company founder * Giulio Ricordi (1840–1912), Italian publisher and musician Music *Casa Ricordi, an Italian music publishing company established i ...

) *''Variazioni-Cadenze Tradizioni per Canto''. Vol. II: Voci Maschili (Ricordi) *''Variazioni-Cadenze Tradizioni per Canto''. Appendice N.1: Voci Miste (Ricordi) *''Variazioni-Cadenze Tradizioni per Canto''. Appendice N.2: Variazioni e Cadenze di G. Rossini (Ricordi) Books and articles *''Maestri, gole e... gola''. Roma, G. Ricordi, 1947. emoirs*''Puccini interprete di se stesso'', Ricordi Milan, (1954) 2003. *''34 anni con Pietro Mascagni'', Edizioni Curci, 1976. *"Fleta e le note filate presente Puccini", ''Rassegna musicale'', Vol. 30, no. 2, April 1977

Recording

*Giuseppe Verdi: ''Il trovatore'' (Stella Roman (Soprano); Silvia Sawyer (Mezzo Soprano); Anna Marcangeli (Soprano); Gino Sarri (Tenor); Antonio Manca Serra (Baritone); Vittorio Tatozzi (Baritone); Nino Mazziotti (Baritone);

Rome Opera The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The pre ...

House Chorus and Orchestra; Conductor: Luigi Ricci) CD Label:

Preiser Records Preiser Records is an independent Austrian record label. It was founded in 1952 by Otto G. Preiser (1920–1996). The label is particularly important for recordings from the Viennese cabaret scene, especially from the 1950s and 1960s (Helmut Qua ...

External links

Harvard Finding Aid

References

– The Bel Canto Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci, Luigi 1893 births 1981 deaths Vocal coaches Academic staff of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Accompanists 20th-century pianists 20th-century Italian musicians

Career

Selected works

Recording

Further reading

External links

References