Giovanni Guicciardi (12 January 1819 – 4 October 1883) was an Italian opera singer who sang leading

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 ...

roles in the opera houses of Italy and Portugal. He is most remembered today for having created the role of Count di Luna in Verdi's ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

''. He created also several other leading roles in operas by lesser known Italian composers. Guicciardi accumulated a considerable fortune during the course of his career. After his retirement from the stage, he taught without payment in music schools in his native city,

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abo ...

, and presided over a charity for orphaned musicians. He died in

San Polo d'Enza San Polo d'Enza ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio Emilia. San Polo d'Enza borders the following municipalities: Bibbiano, Ca ...

at the age of 64.

Roles created

*Licinio Grasso in Foroni's ''I gladiatori'', Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan, 7 October 1851All premieres in this section sourced from Casaglia (2005) *Fulvio Rigo in Pietro Vallini's ''L'orfanella'', Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan, 1 November 1851 *Ivano Bolliol in Giuseppe Winter's ''Matilde di Scozia'', Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan, 25 November 1852 *Count di Luna in Verdi's ''

'',

Teatro Apollo The Tor di Nona is a neighborhood in Rome's ''rione'' '' Ponte''. It lies in the heart of the city's historic center, between the ''Via dei Coronari'' and the Tiber River. Its name commemorates the Torre dell'Annona, a mediaeval tower which once ...

, Rome, 19 January 1853 *Arbace in Petrella's '' Jone'',

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 ...

, Milan, 26 January 1858 *Conte Monmelliano in ''Una notte di festa'',

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 bec ...

, Venice, 16 February 1859 *Giovanni Orseolo in Petrella's ''Morosina ovvero L'ultimo de' Falieri'',

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

, Naples, 6 January 1860 *Douglas in Pappalardo's ''Mirinda'', Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 6 March 1860 *Il Duca in Petrella's ''Il folletto di Gresy'', Teatro del Fondo, Naples, 28 August 1860 *Stefano Colonna in Achille Peri's ''Rienzi'', La Scala, Milan, 26 December 1862

References

1819 births 1883 deaths Italian operatic baritones People from Reggio Emilia 19th-century Italian male opera singers {{Italy-opera-singer-stub