Leone Giraldoni (born 4 July 1824,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

– died 19 September 1897,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) was a celebrated Italian operatic baritone. He created the title roles of Gaetano Donizetti's '' Il duca d'Alba'' (1882) and

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 ...

's ''

Simon Boccanegra ''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had b ...

'' (1857) as well as the role of Renato in Verdi's ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. Th ...

'' (1859). Portrait of Leone Giraldoni, baritone (1826-1897) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON010707 B

Giraldoni studied in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

with Luigi Ronzi and made his début as the High Priest in Pacini's '' Saffo'' ( Lodi, 1847). He made his La Scala début as Il Conte di Luna in ''

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 ...

'' in 1850 and during his long career sang throughout Europe with considerable success. His final performance was in Filippo Marchetti's ''Don Giovanni d'Austria'' at Rome's

Teatro Costanzi The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The pre ...

in 1885. After his retirement he taught voice and singing, first in Milan, and from 1891 at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

.Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J. (1979) ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 2nd Edition, p. 195. Oxford University Press He was the author of two works on singing: *''Guida teorico-pratica ad uso dell'artista-cantante'', Bologna, 1864 (with a revised and expanded edition published in 1884) *''Compendium, Metodo analitico, filosofico e fisiologico per la educazione della voce'', Milan, Ricordi, 1889. Contemporary accounts describe his voice as warm, smooth and evenly produced. He also was considered to be an effective actor, with a noble and dignified stage presence and beautiful phrasing, qualities which made him one of Verdi's favourite baritones. Giraldoni belonged to a distinguished generation of baritones able to perform the then demanding new works of Verdi, as well as the existing '' bel canto'' operatic repertoire, with exemplary style and technical skill.

Personal life

Giraldoni was married to the well-known soprano and violinist Carolina Ferni. Their son, Eugenio Giraldoni (1870–1924), became a leading baritone like his father. In Rome in 1900, Eugenio created the role of Baron Scarpia in

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 ...

's ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

''.Steane, J.B. (2008)
"Giraldoni, Eugenio"
Oxford University Press. Forbes, Elizabeth. (2008)
"Giraldoni, Leone"
''The Grove Book of Opera Singers'', p. 192. Oxford University Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giraldoni, Leone 1824 births 1897 deaths Italian operatic baritones Musicians from Paris Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory Italian expatriates in Russia 19th-century Italian male opera singers