Felice Varesi

Felice Varesi (* 1813 in Calais, † March 13, 1889 in Milan ) was an Italian baritone. He was a very valued by Giuseppe Verdi singers who embodied the characters of Macbeth and Rigoletto at the premieres.

Life

Varesi was originally dedicated to the bel canto operas of Gaetano Donizetti. He began his career in 1834 in Varese and then sang in Faenza, Florence, Modena, Rome, Perugia and Genoa. In 1841 he was engaged at La Scala. 1842 to 1847 we find him at Kärntnertortheater in Vienna, where he sang in the premiere of Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix the Antonio. In 1844 he designed in Padua the role of Don Carlo in Ernani; this should have been his first Verdi role. In the same year he also sang the Doge in VerdisI due Foscari. In the following years, Varesi developed into a specialist of the Verdi repertoire. In 1847 he was Macbeth at the premiere in Florence. In 1851 he created the first performance at the Fenice, the figure of Rigoletto. He sang this role throughout his international career with great success. In 1853 he was at the same opera house Verdi's first Germont in La Traviata. The character of this father figure displeased him, which is said to have contributed to the failure of the premiere. In 1864 he came to London, where he developed his signature role - Rigoletto - sang.

Varesi was admired not only for his extraordinary vocal qualities, but also because of his intelligence, his musicality and especially because of his acting talent. He set the standard for a whole generation of Verdi baritones. Its main competitor was Giorgio Ronconi, the first in the eponymous opera Nabucco. He was married to the soprano Cecilia Boccadabati - Gazzudo, their daughter Elena (1844-1920) also made it as a soprano opera singer.