Nicola Rossi-LemeniHis father's last name was Rossi, but his mother wanted her family name added, "Rossi Lemeni" (without a hyphen). However, many publications and recordings hyphenate the name. (November 6, 1920 – March 12, 1991), was a basso opera singer of mixed Italian-Russian parentage. Rossi-Lemeni was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, the son of an Italian colonel and a Russian mother. In his prime he was one of the most respected bassos in Italy. The composer

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 ...

wrote the opera ''

Assassinio nella cattedrale ''Assassinio nella cattedrale'' (''Murder in the Cathedral'') is an opera in two acts and an intermezzo by the Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti. The libretto is an adaptation by the composer of an Italian translation of T. S. Eliot's 1935 p ...

'' (1958) specifically for Rossi-Lemeni. He was also a prize-winning poet and a painter.

Career

The basso made his debut as Varlaam in ''

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

'' at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

, Venice, in 1946. He sang at the

Teatro alla 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 ...

from 1947 to 1960, the Teatro Colón (1949) and

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

(1952). He appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, opening the 1953/54 season, in '' Faust'' (with Jussi Björling,

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid- ...

and Robert Merrill, conducted by

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

and directed by Peter Brook in his Met debut),''Faust''
opening night performance details and reviews (16 November 1953), Metropolitan Opera followed by the title roles of ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' and ''Boris Godunov''. He sang Don Giovanni to open the newly established Lyric Theatre of Chicago in February 1954 (renamed two years later as Lyric Opera of Chicago), and returned that fall for ''Norma'' with Callas in her American debut, and Basilio in ''The Barber of Seville''. The following season he appeared in ''Puritani'' with Callas, ''Boheme'' with Tebaldi, ''Faust'' with Bjoerling, ''Elisir'' with Carteri, and ''L'amore dei tre re'' with Kirsten. He created the roles of Thomas Beckett in ''

'' (''Murder in the Cathedral'') by

(based on the

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...

play), and Eddie Carbone in ''

Uno sguardo dal ponte ''Uno sguardo dal ponte'' is an opera in two acts by composer Renzo Rossellini. The work uses an Italian language libretto by Gerardo Guerrieri which is based on Arthur Miller's play '' A View from the Bridge''. The opera premiered at the Teatro ...

'' (''A View from the Bridge'') by Renzo Rossellini (based on the Arthur Miller play). Rossi-Lemeni was married to Romanian

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 ...

Virginia Zeani Virginia Zeani (born Virginia Zehan; 21 October 1925), Commendatore OMRI is a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America. As a singer, she was known for her dramatic intensity and ...

. Among his recordings are '' Don Carlos'' (with

Mirto Picchi Mirto Picchi (15 March 1915, San Mauro, near Florence - 25 September 1980, Florence) was an Italian dramatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, and with contemporary works. Picchi studied in Milan with Giulia Tess and Giu ...

, 1951), '' The Barber of Seville'' (with de los Ángeles, 1952), and—opposite

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

—'' I puritani'' (1953), '' Norma'' (1954), ''

Il turco in Italia ''Il turco in Italia'' (English: ''The Turk in Italy'') is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The Italian-language libretto was written by Felice Romani. It was a re-working of a libretto by Caterino Mazzolà set as an opera (w ...

'' (1954) and ''

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...

'' (1954). He was then featured in two recordings of '' La serva padrona'', the first (1955) conducted by

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 ...

, the second (1959) alongside Zeani. In 1952, he recorded excerpts from ''Boris Godunov'' with Leopold Stokowski and the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, which have been reissued on CD. Rossi-Lemeni was a pontifical knight in the

Order of St. Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

. He died in Bloomington, Indiana.

References

Notes Sources * ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', by John Warrack and Ewan West, Oxford University Press, 1996. * Rodolfo Celletti and Alan Blyth
"Rossi-Lemeni, Nicola."
''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', Oxford University Press.

External links

Biographical websiteVirginia Zeani's biographical website
*

January 19, 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi-Lemeni, Nicola Operatic basses Musicians from Istanbul 1920 births 1991 deaths Italian people of Russian descent Indiana University faculty Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Italian emigrants to the United States Italian basses 20th-century Italian male opera singers Italian expatriates in the Ottoman Empire