Richard Bonelli (born George Richard Bunn; 6 February 1889 – 7 June 1980) was an American

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic

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 ...

active from 1915 to the late 1970s. Although he sang predominantly on stage in both light and grand operas, he also performed at various times on radio, in concerts and films, as well as on television."Richard Bonelli dies at 91, sang with old Civic Opera", ''Chicago Tribune'', June 12, 1980, p. C23. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan; subscription access through The University of North Carolina Library at Chapel Hill Library.

Early life and training

Bonelli was the child of Ida (née Homel) and Martin Bunn of Port Byron,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

."California Death Index, 1940-1997", "Bonelli, Richard", 7 June 1980, including mother's maiden name; California Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Section, Sacramento; copies of original records in

FamilySearch FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family His ...

database. His family later moved to

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and soon George preferred to be called Richard. Prior to deciding on a career in music, Bonelli was a friend of race car driver and later mayor of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Ab Jenkins. Bonelli attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, initially studying engineering, but the quality of his singing voice altered those early academic pursuits. He soon began actively training with voice teachers, including Arthur Alexander in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and with Jean de Reszke and William Valonat in Europe.Hooey, Charles A
"Richard Bonelli"
biographical profile, Music Web International. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

Career

Bonelli's operatic debut came on 21 April 1915 at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

as Valentin in Gounod's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

''. He toured with the San Carlo Opera Company between 1922 and 1924. In 1923 he made his European debut as Dardano in Catalani's ''Dejanice'' during the Carnevale season in

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat o ...

, Italy. He returned to Europe in 1924 to sing at the

Monte Carlo Opera Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

and was eventually engaged by the Théâtre de la Gaîté in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Between 1925 and 1931 Bonelli performed with the

Chicago Opera Company The Chicago Opera Company was a grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago City Opera Company, that produced six seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1940 to 1946 (excluding 1943). Arti ...

and between 1926 and 1942 frequently performed at the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

. His Chicago debut in 1925 was in the role of Germont in Verdi's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on '' La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his ow ...

'' with Claudia Muzio (Violetta) and Antonio Cortis (Alfredo). His debut role in San Francisco was Figaro in Rossini's ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'', after appearing in Flotow's ''

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...

'' at the Los Angeles Grand Opera earlier in September 1926. Seizing the opportunity of a one-year collapse of Chicago Civic Opera, the Met impresario Giulio Gatti-Casazza quickly engaged Bonelli for leading baritone roles in New York. His first performance with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

was on 29 November 1932, again as Rossini's '' Figaro'', at the company's tour to Philadelphia. (It was also the role for his last Met stage performance on 14 March 1945.) The cast included

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she s ...

(Rosina), Tito Schipa (Count Almaviva), and Ezio Pinza (Don Basilio). Bonelli's New York

debut came on 1 December 1932 as Giorgio Germont in Verdi's

opposite

Rosa Ponselle Rosa Melba Ponzillo, known as Rosa Ponselle (January 22, 1897 – May 25, 1981) was an American operatic soprano. She sang mainly at the New York Metropolitan Opera and is generally considered to have been one of the greatest sopranos of the 20t ...

as Violetta and Tito Schipa as Alfredo. He remained on the Met's active roster until 1945, making his final performance as

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

's Figaro on 14 March that year. He was the

Tonio Tonio may refer to: * ''Tonio'' (film), a 2016 Dutch film *Tonio (software), a Vocaloid vocal *Tonio Kröger, a novella by Thomas Mann * ''Tonio Kröger'' (film), a film based on the novella *Tonio (app), an audio-decoding-app * Tonio (name), per ...

in the first ever live telecast of opera, from the Met on 10 March 1940 alongside Hilda Burke and

Armand Tokatyan Armand Tokatyan ( hy, Արման Թոքաթյան; bg, Арман Токатян; June 16, 1894 – June 12, 1960) was an operatic tenor. An Armenian born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, he travelled to Egypt with his parents where he sang in cafés to a f ...

. He returned to the Met in 1966 as an honored guest at the 'Gala Farewell' marking the last performance by the Metropolitan Opera in the old opera house at Broadway and 39th Street, before moving to the Lincoln Center."Richard Bonelli (Baritone)"
profile, Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Of his many roles, Bonelli was known best for his

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 ...

repertory as Giorgio Germont, Di Luna, Renato, Rigoletto and Amonasro, and also for his portrayals of Valentin in Gounod's ''

'', Wolfram in Wanger's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'', Tonio in Leoncavallo's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who ...

'', Rossini's '' Figaro'', Enrico Ashton in Donizetti's '' Lucia'' and Sharpless in Puccini's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

''. In

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, he performed under the name Riccardo Bonelli. He appears in at least three surviving films: as the "Eminent Baritone" in a 1928 short, one of Fox Studio's earliest sound films, in which he performs "Largo Al Factotum" from ''The Barber of Seville''; in the 1935 feature '' Enter Madame''; and in a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the 1941 feature ''

The Hard-Boiled Canary ''The Hard-Boiled Canary'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Andrew L. Stone and written by Robert Lively and Andrew L. Stone. It was later reissued as ''There's Magic in Music''. The film stars Allan Jones, Susanna Foster, ...

''.

Retirement and legacy

After retiring from singing, Bonelli became a successful voice teacher at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and in

. Among his students were Frank Guarrera,

Enrico Di Giuseppe Enrico Di Giuseppe (October 14, 1932 – December 31, 2005) was a celebrated American operatic tenor who had an active performance career from the late 1950s through the 1990s. He spent most of his career performing in New York City, juggling ...

, Lucine Amara, and Norman Mittelmann. In 1949 when Edward Johnson retired from his position of general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, Bonelli was a contender for the job though it ultimately went to

Rudolf Bing Sir Rudolf Bing, KBE (January 9, 1902 – September 2, 1997) was an Austrian-born British opera impresario who worked in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably being General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

. Bonelli's favorite baritone was Titta Ruffo. American baritone

Robert Merrill Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993. Early life Merrill was born Moishe Miller, ...

had stated that Bonelli was his inspiration to study singing, after hearing him perform the Count di Luna at the Met alongside Giovanni Martinelli and Elisabeth Rethberg in 1936. Even after retiring from teaching, he periodically performed on stage into his 80s. His later appearances were more on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

Personal life and death

Bonelli, who was the uncle of actor Robert Stack, married twice, the first time to opera singer Pauline Cornélys. They wed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1917 and divorced in 1933.Marriage date and location included on Pauline Cornélys' 1923 United States passport application approved and stamped 16 July 1923, certificate number 323350-323849 issued from New York, N.Y.; "United States Passport Applications, 17951925" database; image of original application in FamilySearch archives, United States Department of State, Washington, D.C. Later that year, in October, Bonelli married Mona Chapman Wood, and the couple remained together until Richard's death. On 7 June 1980, shortly after Bonelli's wife Mona donated his recorded performances to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

's Archive of Recorded Sound, he died at age 91 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. His body was cremated, and the ashes were placed in Niche 32072 in the Columbarium of Victory at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

References

External links

*
Richard Bonelli Collection (ARS.0005), Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonelli, Richard 1889 births 1980 deaths American operatic baritones Brunswick Records artists 20th-century American male opera singers People from Cayuga County, New York Musicians from Syracuse, New York Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts alumni Singers from New York (state) Curtis Institute of Music faculty Music Academy of the West faculty Classical musicians from New York (state)