Carlo Bergonzi

The Italian Singer Carlo Bergonzi Born 13 July 1924 Is One Of The Most Admired Tenors Of The Post-War Period. Although He Performed And Recorded Various Bel Canto And Verismo Roles He Is Above All Associated With The Operas Of Giuseppe Verdi Including A Large Number Of His Lesser-Known Works Which He Helped Revive. Essentially A Lyric Tenor Bergonzi Is Greatly Admired For His Beautiful Legato And Elegant Phrasing. Bergonzi Was Born In Vidalenzo Near Parma. He Began His Studying Singing After An Audition At Age 14 Originally As A Baritone. During World War II He Was Imprisoned In A German Prisoner-Of-War Camp For Anti-Nazi Activities. When The War Ended And He Was Released He Returned To Italy And Began Studies At The Boito Conservatory In Parma. On August 7 1947 At The Age Of 23 Bergonzi Made His Professional Debut Came As Schaunard In La Bohème In Catania Arena Argentina . Other Baritone Roles Included Arlesiana Metifio Don Pasquale Dottor Malatesta L'Elisir D’amore Belcore Lucia Di Lammermoor Lord Enrico Asthon Le Astuzie Di Bertoldo Ghirlino Pagliacci Silvio L'Amico Fritz Fritz Kobus Cavalleria Rusticana Alfio Werther Albert La Bohème Marcello La Fanciulla Del West Sonora Madama Butterfly Sharpless Manon Lescaut Lescaut Il Barbiere Di Siviglia Figaro Mignon Laerte Rigoletto Rigoletto And La Traviata Giorgio Germont . After Retraining His Voice He Made His Debut As A Tenor In 1951 In André Chénier. The Same Year To Mark The 50th Anniversary Of Verdi's Death The Italian State Radio Network RAI Engaged Bergonzi For A Series Of Broadcasts Of Lesser-Known Verdi Operas. In 1953 Bergonzi Made His La Scala Debut Creating The Role Of Masaniello In Napoli's Opera His London Debut As Alvaro His American Debut At The Lyric Opera Of Chicago In 1955 And His Metropolitan Opera Debut The Following Year. His Covent Garden Debut Again As Alvaro Was Not Until 1962. In 1966 He Performed And Recorded Pagliacci With Herbert Von Karajan. Bergonzi Continued To Sing Through The 1970s At Major Opera Houses. In The 1980s He Concentrated More On Recitals. In 1996 Bergonzi Participated In Conductor James Levine's Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Gala At The Metropolitan Opera. He Gave His American Farewell Concert At Carnegie Hall On 17 April That Same Year. However An Announcement That On 3 May 2000 He Was To Sing The Title Role In A Concert Performance Of Otello Conducted By Eve Queler And The Opera Orchestra Of New York Attracted Intense Interest Particularly Given The Fact He Had Never Performed The Role Onstage. Bergonzi Was Unable To Finish The Performance Being Overparted When He Was On Stage As Well As Supposedly Suffering From An Allergy Due To Airconditioning In His Dressing-Room And A Substitute Singer Took Over. Bootlegged Tapes Of The Dress Rehearsal Of Otello Revealed Bergonzi's Voice Sounding Surprisingly Fresh For A Man Of 75. His Tenor Repertory Is As Follows Andrea Chenier-Bari Petruzzelli 18 January 1951 Giovanna D'Arco-Milano RAI 26 May 1951 Pagliacci-Milano RAI 10 June 1951 La Forza Del Destino-Milano RAI 16 July 1951 Un Ballo In Maschera-Milano Nuovo 15 August 1951 Simon Boccanegra-Roma RAI 21 November 1951 I Due Foscari-Milano RAI 5 December 1951 Adriana Lecouvreur-Prato Metastasio 31 December 1951 Faust-Bari Petruzzelli 8 January 1952 Jenufa Steva -Roma Opera 17 April 1952 Ifigenia-Napoli San Carlo 1 June 1952 Mefistofele Roma Caracalla 1 July 1952 Madama Butterfly-Cagliari All'aperto August 1952 Masaniello-Milano Scala 25 March 1953 Rigoletto-Livorno Goldoni 20 May 1953 Aida-Buenos Aires Colón 24 July 1953 Tosca-Buenos Aires Colón 7 August 1953 Manon Lescaut-Rovigo Sociale 24 October 1953 Turandot-Catania Massimo Bellini 19 November 1953 Loreley-Reggio Emilia Municipale 2 February 1954 L'incorazione Di Poppea-Milano RAI 7 March 1954 Carmen-Monte Carlo Salle Garnier 30 January 1955 Lucia Di Lammermoor-Brescia Grande 3 Fenruary 1955 Don Carlo-Buenos Aires Colón August 1955 La Traviata-Salsomaggiore Nuovo 10 September 1955 Il Tabarro-Chicago Lyric 16 November 1955 Cavalleria Rusticana-Chicago Lyric 26 November 1955 L'amore Dei Tre Re-Chicago Lyric 28 November 1955 La Gioconda-Trieste Castello Di San Giusto 16 July 1956 Il Trovatore-New York MET 13 November 1956 Fior Di Maria-Milano RAI 30 January 1957 La Bohème-Caracas Municipal October 1957 Macbeth-New York MET 5 February 1959 L'elisir D'Amore-San Sebastian Victoria Eugenia 26 August 1959 Ernani-New York MET 26 November 1962 La WallyNew York Carnegie Hall 13 March 1968 Werther-Napoli San Carlo 11 February 1969 Norma-New York MET 3 March 1970 Luisa Miller-Genova Margherita 20 September 1972 Edgar-New York Carnegie 13 April 1977 I Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata-San Diego Russ Auditorium 22 June 1979 Il Corsaro-New York Town Hall 16 December 1981 Attila-Tulsa Chapman Music Hall 6 March 1982 Otello-New York Carnegie Hall 3 May 2000 Now Retired Bergonzi Spends Most Of His Time At I Due Foscari His Hotel In Busetto Which Also Houses The Accademia Verdiana. Bergonzi Is Credited With Mentoring Such Tenors As Roberto Aronica Vincenzo La Scola Filippo Lo Giudice Philip Webb Giorgio Casciari Paul Caragiulo Lance Clinker And Most Notably Salvatore Licitra. read less