Antonio Selva (1824 - September 1889) was an Italian operatic bass who had an active international career from the 1840s through the 1870s. He was particularly associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi.
Antonio Selva (1824 - September 1889) was an Italian operatic bass who had an active international career from the 1840s through the 1870s. He was particularly associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi.
Born with the name Antonio Scremin in Padua, Selva was the brother of actor Giambattista Scremin. He originally trained to be an organ builder under Angelo Agostini. Angelo's father, the voice teacher Lorenzo Agostini, discovered his beautiful natural singing voice and began training him for an opera career. He made his professional opera debut in 1842 in one of the smaller theatre's in his home town as Zaccaria in Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco . [1] He was also active as a member of the opera chorus at La Fenice while a teenager.
At the age of 19, he was chosen by Verdi to portray what was written as the comprimario role of de Silva in the world premiere of the composer's Ernani at La Fenice on 9 March 1844. It as a last minute replacement for a singer who found the role too low for his voice and with whom Verdi had little confidence. He was later to expand the role by providing a cabaletta for the character. [2]
Selva was soon invited to sign significant roles at leading opera houses throughout Italy. He made appearances at La Scala, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the Teatro San Samuele in Venice, and the Teatro Valle in Rome among others. In 1849 he created the role of Count Walter in the world premiere of Verdi's Luisa Miller in Naples. He also sang at the Théâtre Italien in Paris from 1865 to 1867 and was a heard at the Teatro Real in Madrid in 1852-1853 and between 1864 and 1874. [1] Some of the roles in his stage repertoire were Balthazar in Gaetano Donizetti's La favorite , Banquo and many of the comprimario roles in Verdi's Macbeth , Briano in Verdi's Aroldo , Moser in Verdi's I masnadieri , and the title role in Verdi's Attila . [3]
After retiring from the stage in the mid-1870s, Selva worked as a singing teacher in his native city. [1] He died in Padua in 1889 at the age of 65. [2]
Eugenia Tadolini was an Italian operatic soprano. Admired for the beauty of her voice and stage presence, she was one of Donizetti's favourite singers. During her career she created over 20 leading roles, including the title roles in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix and Maria di Rohan and Verdi's Alzira. She was born in Forlì and studied music there and in Bologna before making her debut in Florence in 1828. She sang in all of Italy's leading opera houses, as well as in Paris, Vienna, and London before retiring from the stage in 1852. She spent her remaining years first in Naples, where she had been the Teatro San Carlo's reigning prima donna for many years, and then in Paris, where she died of typhoid fever at the age of 63. From 1827 to 1834, she was married to the Italian composer and singing teacher, Giovanni Tadolini.
Raffaele Mirate was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor who had an active career from the 1830s through the 1860s. Known for his intelligent phrasing and bright and powerful vocal timbre, he was regarded as an outstanding interpreter of the tenor roles in the early and middle period operas of Giuseppe Verdi. He notably created the role of the Duke of Mantua in the world premiere of Verdi's Rigoletto in 1851. He was also a highly regarded interpreter of bel canto roles, excelling in the operas of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Gioachino Rossini.
Giacomo Vaghi was an Italian opera singer who had an active international career from 1925-1956. Along with Tancredi Pasero and Ezio Pinza, he was one of the leading operatic basses of his generation. He possessed a rich voice with a dark timbre that drew him particular acclaim in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. He appears on several complete opera recordings made with EMI Classics and Cetra Records.
Gottardo Aldighieri was an Italian operatic baritone who had a major opera career in Italy from 1858 to 1885. He possessed a powerful and beautiful voice and appeared on the stages of most of Italy's great opera houses. He sang a broad repertoire which encompassed works by Italian, French, and German composers. His vocal range was wide, which enabled him to tackle some tenor roles during his career, although he mostly stayed within the baritone repertory. The composer Luigi Arditi devoted his famous waltz song, Il bacio, to him. He was married to the soprano Maria Spezia-Aldighieri, who also had an important opera career in Italy. He is the great grandfather of singer George Aaron.
Marietta Sacchi was an Italian operatic soprano who had an active career during the 1820s and 1830s.
Raffaele Ferlotti was an Italian operatic baritone who had an active international career from the 1830s through the 1860s. He was a regular performer in Italy's leading opera houses, especially La Scala, and created roles in several world premieres. On the international stage he performed in operas in Austria, England, France, and Spain.
Raffaele Scalese (1800–1884) was an Italian operatic bass who specialized in the opera buffa repertoire. He was active in Italy's major opera houses from the mid-1820s up into the 1860s. He also appeared internationally in opera houses in Austria, Portugal, and France. The last years of his career were spent performing in Paris in the late 1860s where he remained after his retirement from the stage.
Erminia Frezzolini was an Italian operatic soprano. She excelled in the coloratura soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim in the bel canto operas of Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. She was married to tenor Antonio Poggi from 1841 to 1846.
Andrea Bellini was an Italian operatic bass who had an active career performing in Italy's major opera houses from the 1840s to the 1870s. He specialized in the buffo repertoire and was most often heard in comprimario roles.
Giacomo Roppa was an Italian operatic tenor who was active career in Italy's most important opera houses from the 1830s through the 1850s. He also made appearances at the Liceu in Spain. He is best remembered for creating the role of Jacopo Foscari in the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's I due Foscari in 1844.
Adelaide Borghi-Mamo was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international career from the 1840s through the 1880s. She was married to tenor Michele Mamo and their daughter, soprano Erminia Borghi-Mamo, also had a successful singing career.
Adelaide Malanotte was an Italian operatic contralto who performed in major opera houses in Italy from 1806 to 1821. She is best known for creating the title role in the world premiere of Gioachino Rossini's Tancredi in 1813. After her marriage, she performed under the name Adelaide Montresor. Her son, Giovanni Battista Montresor, had a career as a tenor and impresario in the United States. From 1812 until her death 20 years later she carried on an extra-marital affair with the poet Luigi Lechi.
Antonio Poggi was an Italian operatic tenor who had an active international career from 1827–1848. He is best remembered for creating roles in the world premieres of operas by Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi. He was married to soprano Erminia Frezzolini from 1841–1846.
Carlo Broccardi (1886–1953) was an Italian operatic tenor who had an active international career during the first third of the 20th century. He notably sang for the first complete recordings of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto and Giacomo Puccini's Tosca ; both for His Master's Voice. He also made recordings for the Fonografia Nazionale and Kalliope record labels.
Giuseppe Capponi was an Italian operatic tenor who sang leading roles both in Italy and Europe. He is most remembered today as the tenor soloist in the world premiere of the Verdi Requiem.
Emilia Goggi, also known as Emilia Goggi-Marcovaldi, was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano who sang in the leading opera houses of Italy as well as in Spain. In 1853 she created the role of Azucena in the world premiere of Verdi's Il trovatore.
Giovanni Guicciardi was an Italian opera singer who sang leading baritone 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. 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, and presided over a charity for orphaned musicians. He died in San Polo d'Enza at the age of 64.
Mario Tiberini was an Italian tenor who sang leading roles in the opera houses of Europe and the Americas in a career spanning 25 years. Known for his advanced singing technique and dramatic ability, he sang the role of Alvaro in the premiere of the revised version of Verdi's La forza del destino and created several roles in operas by lesser-known composers, including the title role in Faccio's Amleto.
Corrado Miraglia was an Italian operatic tenor and in his later years a voice teacher and theatrical agent. He is best known today for having created the role of Ismaele in Verdi's opera Nabucco, although he sang in the world premieres of several other lesser-known works. He was married to the opera singer Giuseppina Brambilla.
Eliodoro Bianchi was an Italian operatic tenor and later a prominent singing teacher. Born in Cividate al Piano and trained in Naples under Giacomo Tritto, he made his stage debut in 1793. Amongst the many roles, he created during the course of his 40-year career were Baldassare in Ciro in Babilonia and the King of Sweden in Eduardo e Cristina, both of which were composed by Rossini expressly for Bianchi's voice. He retired from the stage in 1835 and spent his later years in Palazzolo sull'Oglio, where he died at the age of 75.