Mariano Stabile (12 May 1888 in Palermo, Italy – 11 January 1968 in

Milan, Italy 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 ...

) was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of Falstaff.

Career

Stabile's vocal studies took place at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Antonio Cotogni during the 1907–08 and 1908-09 academic years. He made his professional debut in Palermo, as 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 Giusep ...

'', in 1909. After singing throughout Italy, he appeared in Saint Petersburg in 1911, Buenos Aires in 1913, Barcelona in 1914, and made his debut at the Paris Opera in 1917, as Amonasro in ''

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 Decemb ...

''. The turning point of his career came when Arturo Toscanini chose him for the title-role in '' Falstaff'' for the reopening of La Scala in 1921, a role that he would eventually sing an estimated 1200 times during his long career. He sang at La Scala until 1955, and among his other roles there were: Gérard, Scarpia, Iago, Malatesta, Dulcamara, Beckmesser, Schicchi. Also at La Scala, he created the title role of Respighi's ''Belfagor'', in 1923. He also took part in the revival of '' Il turco in Italia'', as Prosdocimo, in 1955, opposite Maria Callas. Stabile appeared regularly at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in London, from 1926 to 1931. He also sang at the Festivals of

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hun ...

and

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between 1931 and 1939, and in Mozart roles such as Figaro, Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso, at the Cambridge Theatre in London from 1946 to 1949. His only appearance in North America seems to have been in Chicago in 1924. Stabile had a good voice, if not particularly beautiful, and it was used with style and intelligence. He had excellent diction and was an outstanding singing-actor, especially in comedy, and he enjoyed a remarkably long career. He was married to Italian soprano Gemma Bosini (1890–1982), with whom he occasionally appeared on stage.

Sources

* D. Hamilton (ed.), ''The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Opera'' (Simon and Schuster, New York 1987). * Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition), ''Guide de l’opéra'', Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995). {{DEFAULTSORT:Stabile, Mariano 1888 births 1968 deaths Italian operatic baritones Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni Fonotipia Records artists 20th-century Italian male opera singers Musicians from Palermo