Vincenzo La Scola (26 January 1958 – 15 April 2011) was an Italian tenor who had a successful international opera career for more than 25 years. He was particularly admired for his portrayals in operas by

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 ...

, Giacomo Puccini,

Gaetano 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 ...

, and Vincenzo Bellini. He also achieved success as a crossover artist, particularly in his many collaborations with singer-songwriter Cliff Richard and for his solo crossover album for EMI, ''Vita Mia'' (1999). In 2000 he was made a

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The United Nations Intern ...

, and from 2004 until his sudden death in 2011 he served as principal teacher and artistic director of the Accademia Verdi Toscanini in Parma.

Career

La Scola was born in Palermo, Italy, and studied singing with Arrigo Pola,

Carlo Bergonzi Carlo Bergonzi may refer to: * Carlo Bergonzi (luthier) (1683–1747), Italian luthier * Carlo Bergonzi (tenor) Carlo Bergonzi (13 July 1924 – 25 July 2014) was an Italian operatic tenor. Although he performed and recorded some bel canto and ...

, and Rodolfo Celletti. In 1982 he won the Alessandro Ziliano Award at the Vico Verdiane Competition. He made his professional opera debut in 1983 at the Teatro Regio in Parma as Ernesto in

's '' Don Pasquale''. His career developed rapidly, and by 1989 he had already performed in leading roles at the Cologne Opera House (debut 1985), the Festival Puccini (debut in 1987 as Rinuccio in Puccini's '' Gianni Schicchi''),

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 ...

(debut in 1987 as Tonio in Donizetti's '' La fille du régiment''), La Monnaie (debut in 1984 as Nemorino in ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' (opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera premiere ...

''), the Kiel Opera House (debut 1985), the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

(debut in 1987 as Rinuccio), the Opéra Royal de Wallonie (debut 1984), the

Ravenna Festival The Ravenna Festival is a summer festival of opera and classical music (as well as dance, jazz, ethnic, musical theater, ballett, sacred music, electronic music, drama, film, plus conventions and exhibitions) held in the city of Ravenna, Italy and t ...

(debut in 1989, Alfredo in ''

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 ...

''), the

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early 1 ...

(debut in 1988, Arlecchino Battocchio in Mascagni's ''

Le maschere ''Le maschere'' (''The Masks'') is an opera in a Prologue and three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. The work was Mascagni's homage to Rossini and to the Italian opera buffa and commedia dell'arte traditions. It ...

''), the Teatro Regio in Turin (debut in 1988), and

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 ...

(debut in 1988 as Nemorino). In 1986 he made his first three recordings: the tenor soloist in Rossini's '' Petite messe solennelle'' for Erato Records, and two full-length opera releases, Franco Battiato's ''Genesi'' and Bellini's ''

Beatrice di Tenda ''Beatrice di Tenda'' is a tragic opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini, from a libretto by Felice Romani, after the play of the same name by . Initially, a play by Alexandre Dumas was chosen as the subject for the opera, but Bellini had reserv ...

''.Stevenson, Joseph
"Biography: Vincenzo la Scola"
'' All Music Guide''. Accessed via answers.com, 17 February 2010 Several more invitations to appear at other important houses continued in the early 1990s, including the

Royal Opera, London The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...

(debut in 1990, Rodolfo in '' La bohème''); the Teatro Carlo Felice (debut in 1990, Rodolfo); the

Macerata Opera The Macerata Opera is the name given to the coordinating bodies of the provincial and local government in Macerata, the provincial capital of the Marche region of Italy, which puts on performances of three or four operas each July and August under ...

(debut in 1990, Rodolfo); the San Francisco Opera (debut in 1991 as Tebaldo in ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''Tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...

''); the Teatro di San Carlo (debut 1991 as Gennaro in ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

''); the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (debut 1991 as the Duke of Mantua in '' Rigoletto''): the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''General ...

(debut 1991); the

Arena di Verona Festival Arena di Verona Festival (Verona Arena Festival) is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Verona ...

(debut 1992); the Vienna State Opera (debut 1992); and the Metropolitan Opera (debut in 1993 as Rodolfo). In 2006, La Scola appeared at the 20th anniversary concert of the Suntory Hall in Japan. During this concert, in addition to singing, he also demonstrated his flute-playing ability, including an instrumental rendition of " Casta Diva" on the flute.Archived a
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La Scola continued to appear regularly on the stages of the world's best opera houses up until his death of a sudden heart attack in Turkey in 2011. Other roles in his repertoire included Cavaradossi in '' Tosca'', Edgardo in '' Lucia di Lammermoor'', Gabriele Adorno in '' Simon Boccanegra'', Pinkerton in ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', Pollione in '' Norma'', Radamès in '' Aida'', Riccardo in '' Un ballo in maschera'', and the title roles in '' Roberto Devereux'', '' Don Carlos'', and '' The Tales of Hoffmann'' among others.

Death

Vincenzo La Scola died at the age of 53 on 15 April 2011 in

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

, Turkey due to a heart attack.

Discography

Albums

*1999: ''Vita Mia''

Singles

*1999: "Vita Mia" (with Cliff Richard)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Scola, Vincenzo 1958 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Palermo Italian operatic tenors Opera crossover singers UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors 20th-century Italian male opera singers