Arrigo Pola
Arrigo Pola ( born July 5, 1919 in Finale at Modena; † November 3, 1999 in Modena ) was an Italian tenor and singing teacher who was known primarily as a teacher of Luciano Pavarotti.
As a tenor sang Pola los Ángeles, among other things as a partner of soprano Maria Caniglia, Victoria de, Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas. He was a professor at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and from 1957 to 1965 director of the " Fujiwara Opera Company " in Tokyo.
Life and effect
Arrigo Pola was born on July 5, 1919 in Finale at Modena (Reggio Emilia ), Italy. His family moved in 1925 to Modena. There the young Arrigo Pola went to primary school in the morning and worked the afternoon in a bar to supplement the finances of his family. Then the trained as a musician ( trumpet ) at the Liceo Musicale " Orazio Vecchi ". There his tenor voice was discovered and studied opera singing in the class of Mercedes Aicardi. In 1940, he won, together with the young bass Cesare Siepi and mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri national opera singing competition. After he was drafted into the Italian army, he played trumpet and sang at the " Raul Oscar Iotti band". From 1943 he continued his studies with Professor Bertazzoni and Professor Barbieri and studied operatic roles with the young pianist and conductor Leone Magiera one, later husband and accompanist of Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti.
On June 21, 1945 Pola made his successful debut at the Teatro Comunale in Modena as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca by Giacomo Puccini. He then sang Pinkerton ( one of his signature roles ) in Madama Butterfly together with Mafalda Favero, Alfredo in La Traviata with Margarita Carosio and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, together with Tito Gobbi.
1947 debuted Arrigo Pola at La Scala as Faust in Faust by Charles Gounod, alongside Renata Tebaldi and Cesare Siepi as Margarethe as Mephistopheles, conducted by Antonino Votto.
There followed a rapid career with important obligations, such as the world - premiere of the Messa da Requiem by Gaetano Donizetti, conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni, anniversary performances of La Fiamma by Ottorino Respighi at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, anniversary performances of Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea at the Teatro Municipale in Reggio Calabria ( with Maria Caniglia ) and anniversary performances of La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli in his signature role as Enzo Grimaldi.
In 1951 at the Teatro Reggio di Parma produced La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi to its 50th anniversary with Maria Callas as Violetta and Arrigo Pola as Alfredo brought him great success, but also conflicts with " La Divina " and her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini, which in career in Italy harm.
In the summer of 1951 he sang the role of Enzo Grimaldi in a series performances of La Gioconda in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, in between a gala performance for the Italian Government and the official state guest, the President of the Philippines. Arrigo Pola was asked the next day to an audience and received two highly doped offers, first tenor at the opera or as a professor at the Conservatory in Manila. Together with his wife he decided to accept the Philippine offer, and he moved with his family to Manila, where he remained three years.
In Manila, he sang in Il trovatore by Verdi, La Bohème by Puccini, Manon by Massenet, Mascagni 's Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. To this end, he gave many concerts, with music by Filipino composers ( so-called tagalog kundiman - traditional songs ). He has performed and taught in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Between 1954 and 1957 he was back in Modena, where he taught and tried to re- enforce in Italy as a tenor. This proved to be due to the Eklats with Meneghini, 1951 in Parma difficult. In 1954, Pola visit by a baker named Fernando Pavarotti and his 19 - year-old son Luciano. The baker wanted to know if the tenor voice of his son, who sang with him in the Chorale Rossini, sufficient for training as a professional opera singer. How Arrigo Pola later reported that he knew about a 15 -minute audition that he faced a super talent. He spontaneously decided to help the penniless boy and his family and gave the young Luciano free almost every day lessons until he traveled with his family in 1957 to Japan. Not ( If it were my dear teacher: Late Luciano Pavarotti said, even in front of the camera for the TV movie Pavarotti and the Italian Tenor " If it had not been for my dear teacher Arrigo Pola, I would not be what I am today. " Arrigo Pola, I would not be who I am today ).
Arrigo Pola in 1957 received a reputation as a professor at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (now Tokyo University of the Arts - Tokyo Daigaku Geijutsu ) with the condition that he mastered the Japanese language. He accepted the call and moved with his wife to Japan. He secured the training of the young Pavarotti with the pianist and vocal coach Ettore Campogalliani, but remained as a mentor with Luciano Pavarotti in contact and later was a juror at the Pavarotti International Vocal Competition.
Pola worked until 1965 as a professor and then as dean in the department of European song of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and the Music. In addition, he was from 1957 to 1965 Artistic Director of the Fujiwara Opera Company and continued to perform as a tenor in opera productions and concerts in Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
In the first black and white film adaptation of Madama Butterfly by the Japanese radio and television company NHK, he took over the role of Pinkerton. For his contributions to the culture in Japan, he received from the Tenno Hirohito, the highest honor that could get a foreigner living in Japan.
Discography
- "Il Mito Dell Opera " Bongiovanni; CD, 2008; Label: Phantom; Anita Cerquetti and Arrigo Pola
- ". Arrigo Pola Famous Tenor Arias"; CD, 1993; Label: ZYX -MUSIC; Arrigo Pola, Kioko Tzukada; Orchestra of Tokyo National University of Arts, Dir Franco Capuana