Lorenzo Salvi
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Lorenzo Salvi (4 May 1810 – 16 January 1879) was an Italian operatic
tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
who had a major international opera career during the nineteenth century. He was particularly associated with the operas of
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
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 ...
; notably singing lead roles is several world premieres by both composers.


Biography

Born in
Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
, Salvi studied under Bonaccini in Naples before making his professional opera debut as Cam in the world premiere of Donizetti's '' Il diluvio universale'' on 28 February 1830 at the
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 t ...
. This was followed by several appearance at the
opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
in
Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
in 1830–1831. He then joined the roster of principal singers at the
Teatro Valle Teatro may refer to: * Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific p ...
in Rome, singing there through 1832. While with the company he sang several leading tenor roles, including the title role in Rossini's ''
Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...
'' opposite
Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...
as Desdemona and Fernando in the world premiere of
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 ...
's '' Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo'' (1833). Over the next two decades Salvi was one of Italy's leading tenors, singing roles with most of the country's major opera houses. On 21 August 1836 he portrayed Daniele in the world premiere of Donizetti's ''
Betly ''Betly, ossia La capanna svizzera'' ("Betly, or The Swiss Chalet") is a ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts (originally one) by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. The composer wrote the Italian libretto after Eugène Scribe and Mélésville's l ...
'' at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples. He went on to sing in two more Donizetti premieres, the title role in ''
Gianni di Parigi ''Gianni di Parigi'' is an 1839 ''melodramma comico'' (''opera buffa'') in two acts with music by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Felice Romani, which had previously been set by Francesco Morlacchi in 1818 and by Giovanni Antonio Speranza in 1 ...
'' (1839,
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 ...
), and Oliverio in '' Adelia'' (1841,
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 s ...
). From 1836 until 1840 Salvi had a number of lauded successes at the
Teatro Carlo Felice The Teatro Carlo Felice is the principal opera house of Genoa, Italy, used for performances of opera, ballet, orchestral music, and recitals. It is located on the side of Piazza De Ferrari. The hall is named for King Carlo Felice, and dates fro ...
. A particular triumph was the role of Arnold in that theatre's first mounting of Rossini's ''
William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
'' (1840). From 1839 until 1842 Salvi was a regular performer at La Scala. While there he notably sang leading roles in the world premieres of the first two operas composed 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 ...
, portraying Riccardo in '' Oberto'' on 17 November 1839 and Edoardo in ''
Un giorno di regno ''Un giorno di regno, ossia Il finto Stanislao'' (''A One-Day Reign, or The Pretend Stanislaus'', but often translated into English as ''King for a Day'') is an operatic '' melodramma giocoso'' in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto ...
'' on 5 September 1840. Other La Scala highlights included an appearance in the original production of
Federico Ricci Federico Ricci (22 October 1809 – 10 December 1877), was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works. Federico studied at Naples as had his ...
's ''Un duello sotto Richelieu'' (1839) and the role of Tonio in the house premiere of Donizetti's ''
La fille du régiment ' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra- ...
'' (1840). In 1843 Salvi made his first appearances in France at the Théâtre-Italien as Edgardo in Donizetti's ''
Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...
'' and Riccardo in Donizetti's ''
Maria di Rohan ''Maria di Rohan'' is a ''melodramma tragico'', or tragic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano, after Lockroy and Edmond Badon's ''Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu'', which had pl ...
''. From 1847–1850 he sang annually as a guest artist at 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 ...
, where he had tremendous successes portraying heroes from Donizetti and Bellini operas. He also traveled to North America several times during his career, notably performing in a number of operas at
Niblo's Garden Niblo's Garden was a theater on Broadway and Crosby Street, near Prince Street, in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1823 as "Columbia Garden" which in 1828 gained the name of the ''Sans Souci'' and was later the property of ...
in Manhattan. In 1851 he made a lengthy concert tour of the United States with Swedish soprano Jenny Lind. He also took part in the first performance of the
Mexican national anthem The "Mexican National Anthem" ( es, Himno Nacional Mexicano, nah, Mexihcaletepetlacuicalt), also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the cry of war" ( es, Mexicanos, al grito de guerra), is the national anthem of Mexico. The anthem was first u ...
on September 15, 1854. Salvi was married to Italian soprano Adelina Spech-Salvi who also had an important opera career. After their retirement from the stage, the couple moved to Bologna and worked as singing teachers. Salvi died in Bologna in 1879 at the age of 68.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salvi, Lorenzo 1810 births 1879 deaths Italian operatic tenors 19th-century Italian male opera singers People from Ancona