Giuseppe Valdengo
Giuseppe Valdengo ( born May 24, 1914 in Turin, † October 3, 2007 in Aosta ) was an Italian opera singer in the vocal category baritone.
Life
Giuseppe Valdengo initially trained as an instrumental soloist. He studied at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Turin in the main compartment oboe, English horn furthermore, piano and cello. In the subjects oboe and English horn, he also earned his musicians diploma. At the suggestion of the Italian composer Franco Alfano, the former director of the Conservatory, Valdengo let his voice form and then studied singing with Michaele Accoriuti.
After completing his studies Valdengo sang at the Teatro Sperimentale ago in Alessandria, where he was employed. His debut as an opera singer was there in 1936 in the role of Sharpless in Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. In the same year a guest appearance followed the Teatro Comunale in Bologna as Marcello in La Bohème opera. In 1936, he debuted at the Teatro Regio in Parma as Figaro in Mozart's opera Le Nozze di Figaro, moreover he appeared there in 1942 as Marcello on. In Turin, he sang shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War successfully in Italian the herald in the romantic opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner.
In the season 1938/1939 Valdengo was engaged after a mediated by the bassist Tancredi Pasero audition at La Scala in Milan. The information on Valdengos Scala debut is mixed. In part, it is not specified for the season 1938/1939 in the role of the broom-maker Peter ( Pietro) in the fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck. From 1941 performances Valdengos are proven secure in the presence directories La Scala in Milan. Then Valdengo first appeared in 1941 as Douphol in La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. In the season 1941/1942 appearances as Franz in Lodoletta by Pietro Mascagni, as Mandarin in Turandot by Giacomo Puccini, as Peter / Pietro in Hansel and Gretel, and as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. 1943 Valdengo again sang again the Baron Douphol in La Traviata. From war reasons, it no longer came to more bookings. In the 1945/1946 season Valdengo then continued his career at La Scala away again.
From 1946 to 1948 Valdengo sang at the New York City Centre Opera. There he made his debut in 1946 as well as Sharpless. This was followed in the 1946/1947 season there other roles: Tonio in Pagliacci, Scarpia in Tosca and Valentin in Margarethe. In the 1947/1948 season he sang Marcello, Escamillo in Carmen, the title role in Rigoletto and Germont père -. In 1947 he sang at the San Francisco Opera also the Valentin in Charles Gounod's Marguerite.
1947 Valdengo was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he remained a permanent member until 1954. He debuted there in December 1947 on the side of Licia Albanese and Raoul Jobin with Tonio in Pagliacci. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera in total 17 different games in about 90 ideas, mainly the great baritone roles of Puccini ( Marcello, Lescaut ) and Verdi ( Germont père -, Ford, Amonasro, Paolo Albiani ). Other roles at the MET were: Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor and Belcore in The Elixir of Love.
A peak in Valdengos career was from 1947, the collaboration with the conductor Arturo Toscanini. Toscanini chose Valdengo from the baritone roles in the broadcast on NBC annual radio performances. 1947 Valdengo sang on the side of Ramon Vinay and Herva Nelli Iago in Verdi's Otello. This role had personally studied with Valdengo Toscanini. 1949 followed the Amonasro in Aida. In 1950 he took over the title role in Falstaff, which he had also worked with Toscanini, at the side of Frank Guarrera as Ford
After the end of his engagement at the Metropolitan Opera Valdengo returned to Europe and sang at various opera houses and festivals. In 1953 he went to Milan's La Scala on as Manfredo in L' Amore dei tre re by Italo Montemezzi. In 1955 he sang at La Scala again to Marcello. In 1955 he appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival with: in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni and Le Comte Ory in as Raimbaud by Gioacchino Rossini. In 1961 he sang at the Opera House of Rome in the world premiere of the opera Il Sguardo dal Ponte by Renzo Rossellini.
1962 Valdengo published his autobiography under the title Ho cantato con Toscanini. 1966 Valdengo passed from the stage, but gave further concerts. Valdengo remained artistically active as a singing teacher. His students included, among others, Alessandro Corbelli, Bruno Pratico and Claudius courage.
Audio
The passed on through radio broadcasts, live recordings and records of musical work of Giuseppe Valdengo was largely on CD, partly in special historical documentaries, re-released in recent years. Valdengos not very numerous recordings show an excellent vocal technique, an intelligent use of intermediate tones and colors and an artful phrasing. His recordings with Toscanini are still regarded as a set new standards.
Under the direction of Toscanini Valdengo was a "musically and artistically evenly matched adversaries " to Vinay's interpretation of the title role.
In the interpretation of Falstaff Valdengo avoided "cheap and grotesque exaggeration ." There is in his interpretation no " thickly applied Jokes ". He embodies a vocally credible lovers. Special mention was also Valdengos excellent diction and his sixth sense for the particular stage situation.