Felice Varesi (born Calais, 1813 – died

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, 13 March 1889) was a French-born Italian baritone with an illustrious singing career that began in the 1830s and extended into the 1860s. He is best remembered today for his close association with several famous operas composed by Giuseppe Verdi, whose birth year he shared.

Career

Specializing initially in the bel canto operas of Verdi's predecessor Gaetano Donizetti, Varesi began his career in

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

in 1834 and went on to sing in Faenza,

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, Modena, Rome,

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and

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. By 1841 he was singing at La Scala, Milan, and from 1842 to 1847 he was in demand in

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, where he appeared at the Kärntnertortheater. Here he created the role of Antonio in Donizetti's ''

Linda di Chamounix ''Linda di Chamounix'' is an operatic ''melodramma semiserio'' in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on 19 May 1842. Performance history '' ...

'' as well as appearing in other works by the same composer. In 1844 he sang the role of Don Carlo in '' Ernani'' at

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, his initial Verdi opera, and later appeared as the Doge in Verdi's '' I due Foscari''. In 1847, in

, he was the first Macbeth in Verdi's opera of that name. Then, in 1851 at La Fenice, Venice, he created Verdi's

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 co ...

, and in 1853, at the same house, he became Verdi's original

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in '' La traviata''. (Varesi disliked Germont's character but sang the part anyway.) He came to London in 1864 to perform Rigoletto – probably his best known role – at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

. Varesi was admired for his intelligence, musicianship and acting ability as well for the exceptional quality of his voice. He set the scene for a succeeding generation of great Verdi baritones that included

Francesco Graziani Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward. He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981 ...

, Leone Giraldoni and Antonio Cotogni, while his chief contemporary rival was Giorgio Ronconi (the creator of Verdi's

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, "Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, J ...

). He was married to the operatic soprano Cecilia Boccabadatti Gazzudo. Their daughter, Elena (1844–1920), also sang as a soprano, opening a singing school in Chicago following her retirement from the stage. Elena's daughter,

Gilda Varesi Gilda Varesi (September 28, 1887 – May 27, 1965), also known as Gilda Varesi Archibald, was an Italian-born actress and playwright. Early life Gilda Varesi was born in Milan, and adopted as the daughter of opera singer Elena Boccabadati Varesi ...

, was an actress and playwright."Minute Visits in the Wings"
''New York Times'' (January 24, 1915): X7.

Sources

* Forbes, Elizabeth (1992), 'Varesi, Felice' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) . *Harold Rosenthal and John Warrack (1979), 'Varesi, Felice' in ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' (second edition; London) .

References

Italian operatic baritones 1813 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Italian male opera singers People from Calais French emigrants to Italy {{italy-opera-singer-stub