Domenico Viglione Borghese
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Domenico Viglione Borghese (13 July 1877 – 26 October 1957) was an Italian operatic
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 ...
and actor.


Early life

Born in
Mondovì Mondovì (; pms, Ël Mondvì , la, Mons Regalis) is a town and ''comune'' (township) in Piedmont, northern Italy, about from Turin. The area around it is known as the Monregalese. The town, located on the Monte Regale hill, is divided into ...
, he gave up his studies in medicine to dedicate himself to the study of singing, first in Milan and later with Luigi Leonesi at Conservatorio Rossini in Pesaro, where he was admitted in 1896. He made his début in 1899 at the Teatro Verdi in Lodi as the Herald in ''
Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, 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 fi ...
''. Though he continued working in small, provincial theaters, he soon gave up opera, saying that he did not care "for the atmosphere and intrigues."


America

Shortly thereafter he emigrated to America to join the Klondike Gold Rush but was unsuccessful there. After about three years, he moved to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, where he worked as a bottle washer, waiter, as a
navvy Navvy, a clipping of navigator ( UK) or navigational engineer ( US), is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects and occasionally (in North America) to refer to mechanical shovels and eart ...
on the railroad, and on the docks. A 1904 San Francisco directory shows him residing at 700 Broadway in
San Francisco's Chinatown The Chinatown centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, () is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four notable ...
. He continued taking lessons and singing here and there and by a stroke of fortune was heard 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) ...
, who recommended to the impresario Scognamiglio that he engage Viglione Borghese in his traveling opera troupe, whose prima donna was
Luisa Tetrazzini Luisa Tetrazzini (June 29, 1871 in Florence – April 28, 1940 in Milan) was an Italian dramatic coloratura soprano of great international fame. Tetrazzini "had a scintillating voice with a brilliant timbre and a range and agility well b ...
. He sang on their 1906–1906 tour of Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America and from his successes during these performances, he was able to return to Italy at the end of 1906 to pursue an operatic career once more.


Operatic career

His major stage debut was as Amonasro in a 1907 production of ''
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 ...
'' at the Teatro Regio in Parma. The power and size of his voice created a sensation, and he soon was alternating Amonasro with Marcello in ''
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 ...
'' and Gerard in ''
Andrea Chénier ''Andrea Chénier'' () is a verismo opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed on 28 March 1896 at La Scala, Milan. The story is based loosely on the life of the French poet Andr ...
''. About Viglione Borghese's impact on the Italian opera scene, Edgar Herbert-Caesari said: By 1910 Viglione Borghese had reached
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 ...
, where he made his début as Nelusko in '' L'africana'' and later created the role of Guarca in
Spyridon Samaras Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras (also Spyros, Spiro Samára; el, Σπυρίδων Σαμάρας) () was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini. His com ...
's ''Rhea''. Thereafter his international career accelerated; he began to sing at many of the major European houses and became a house favorite at the
Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...
in Buenos Aires. In 1911, he created the role of the sheriff Jack Rance in the Italian premiere of
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 lin ...
's ''
La fanciulla del West ''La fanciulla del West'' (''The Girl of the West'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by and , based on the 1905 play '' The Girl of the Golden West'' by the American author David Belasco. ''Fanciulla'' followe ...
''. This was Viglione Borghese's workhorse role for the rest of his career. He had so much success in it that Puccini himself referred to him as "il mio sceriffo." In 1912 he married Claudia Nappi, daughter of the Milanese music critic of ''
La Perseveranza ''La Perseveranza'' was a daily newspaper founded in Milan, the capital of Lombardy, on 29 November 1859 and published till 20 May 1922. It was generally representative of the centre-right political establishment, though there were occasions when ...
''. In 1917, in Rome, he appeared in the world premiere of Renzo Bianchi's ''Gismonda'' alongside Ida Quaiatti and
Edoardo Garbin Edoardo Garbin (12 March 1865 – 12 April 1943) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was married to the soprano Adelina Stehle. One of the most important Italian tenors of his day, Garbin created, inter alia, tenor roles in Alberto Franchetti's ...
. He continued singing until age 64, retiring in 1940 with some 70 roles in his repertoire, primarily comprised by Verdi and
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 ...
literature. He lived in Milan, where he taught voice until he died in 1957.


Recordings

Viglione Borghese’s published recordings were for
Fonotipia Records Fonotipia Records, or Dischi Fonotipia, was an Italian gramophone record label established in 1904 with a charter to record the art of leading opera singers and some other celebrity musicians, chiefly violinists. Fonotipia continued to operate int ...
from 1909 to 1910 and for
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
around 1924. Only fairly recently was it discovered that he made two unpublished disc recordings
Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important player in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by Edison's founda ...
in London in 1911.
Marston Records Marston Records is an independent American record label. The label specializes in the remastering and reissuing of very early and rare recordings. It was founded in 1997 by Ward Marston and Scott Kessler. Releases on Marston Records Collecti ...
issued these on their two volumes of ''The Edison Legacy: Unpublished Treasures of the Edison Archive.''


Actor

Viglione Borghese, convinced by
Mario Soldati Mario Soldati (17 November 1906 – 19 June 1999) was an cinema of Italy, Italian writer and film director. In 1954 he won the Strega Prize for ''Lettere da Capri.'' He directed several works adapted from novels, and worked with leading Ital ...
to try his hand at acting in films, debuted in a small role in that director's ''
Piccolo mondo antico ''Piccolo mondo antico'' (literally: Little Ancient World), known in English as ''Old-Fashioned World '', is a 1941 Italian drama film directed by Mario Soldati and based on the 1895 novel by Antonio Fogazzaro. It belongs to the movies of the c ...
'' in 1941. Over the next eleven years, Viglione Borghese took on similar modest character roles in another twenty films.


Filmography

* ''
Piccolo mondo antico ''Piccolo mondo antico'' (literally: Little Ancient World), known in English as ''Old-Fashioned World '', is a 1941 Italian drama film directed by Mario Soldati and based on the 1895 novel by Antonio Fogazzaro. It belongs to the movies of the c ...
'' * '' L'amore canta'' * ''
Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...
'' (1942) * '' The Son of the Red Corsair'' (1943) * ''
Giacomo the Idealist ''Giacomo the Idealist'' (Italian: ''Giacomo l'idealista'') is a 1943 Italian drama film directed by Alberto Lattuada and starring Massimo Serato, Marina Berti and Andrea Checchi.Moliterno p.267 It represents the directorial debut of Lattuada. ...
'' (1943) * ' * '' L'amico delle donne'' * '' La primadonna'' * '' Piruetas juveniles'' * ''
L'abito nero da sposa ''L'abito nero da sposa'' () is a 1945 Italian historical drama film directed by Luigi Zampa and starring Fosco Giachetti. It is based on the play ''The Cardinal'' by Louis N. Parker. Cast * Fosco Giachetti as Il cardinale Giovanni de Medici * ...
'' * '' Il ventesimo duca'' * '' Genoveffa di Brabante'' * '' Manù il contrabbandiere'' * '' L'ultima cena'' * '' Giudicatemi!'' * ''
The Mill on the Po ''Il mulino del Po'' (internationally released as ''The Mill on the Po'') is a 1949 Italian drama film directed by Alberto Lattuada. It is based on the novel with the same name by Riccardo Bacchelli. Cast *Carla Del Poggio: Berta *Jacques Sern ...
'' (1949) * '' Heaven Over the Marshes'' (1949) * '' Hand of Death'' (1949) * '' The Mistress of Treves'' (1952) * '' Ho sognato il paradiso'' * '' Il Diavolo in convento'' * '' Mistress of Treves''


External links


Domenico Viglione Borghese biography
at Opera Vivrà


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viglione Borghese, Domenico 1877 births 1957 deaths Italian operatic baritones Italian male film actors 20th-century Italian male opera singers 19th-century Italian male opera singers 20th-century Italian male actors People from Mondovì